Discordia
by Y-ko
Summary: Old. Discontinued. Slowly being cannibalized to fuel several new stories.
1. New Beginnings

_Haha, oh wow, I can't believe I finally wrote this._

_As if there was any doubt, I don't own Pokémon._

* * *

"All right, let's… Let's check again." She squinted, bent over her bag, and began to count her supplies one last time.

"…Money. Food. Flashlight." She marked off each item on a list that was covered with check-marks already. "More food, socks, a raincoat, bandages, medicine…" Her hand halted as she got to the last word. "Five Pokéballs."

She wasn't going to be the best-prepared newbie. Her supplies had been put together from whatever she could grab around the house: all the non-perishable food she could find in the kitchen, a collection of the most practical clothes she owned, and a bottle of headache pills and some rubbing alcohol from the bathroom.

But the Pokéballs… The Pokéballs were from Professor Elm. Her parents had never kept stuff like that around the house. They were worried it'd give her _ideas_—as if she needed encouragement.

_She couldn't do this._

She shut her eyes and shook her head, as her stomach churned with the latest wave of guilt. No. She could do this. She was ready. She had to be.

"I guess it's all here," she whispered, her voice coming out small and shaky. "Come on, Ringo. We're ready to go." But the Tyrogue hesitated, his face as conflicted as hers. He'd been giving her disapproving looks all day, and she knew why. Technically, he wasn't hers. Technically, he belonged to "the Center", as she called it. So technically, taking him with her like this was stealing.

No. They might say it was stealing, but what did they know? They didn't know how close the two of them were, or why she had to go, and if she told them, they wouldn't let her leave. Her mission was too important to let herself be stopped by them.

Besides, she would bring him back someday. And he'd be even stronger then, so that should make them happy.

"They'll understand," she said, reassuring both her Pokémon and herself. "This is important. And… It's an adventure. You and me. Like we wanted. Don't you…" Her voice broke, and she grabbed one of his small shoulders. "Please… I can't go without you. You're my only Pokémon. And you're…"

She watched him think it over, hand to his chin. Finally, to her relief, he gave a solemn nod, and picked up the last remaining bag she'd packed.

She grinned, blinking back tears. "I knew you'd stay with me."

There was one final step to take. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a sixth Pokéball, emblazoned with the letters _NBRC_. She pressed the button in the center twice, once to enlarge it and again to spring it open. Then she handed it to Ringo, who took one half in each hand and, after a moment's hesitation, pulled them apart. There was a small click followed by a _snap_ as the ball broke in two, and the Tyrogue was bathed in a soft blue glow.

He was hers now.

They went out the bedroom door and climbed down the stairs, staying vigilant for any signs of trouble. But they made it safely all the way to the kitchen, where she stopped again. She hadn't wanted to leave this way. Her parents would worry, and she would be guilty, and they might even send the police after her. But she couldn't say goodbye.

Still, she snatched a piece of paper and a pencil from the counter, and scribbled a hasty note.

"All right, let's go."

The display of her pink digital watch glowed in the darkness, giving the time as a quarter past ten. If she moved quickly, she could be halfway to Cherrygrove before her parents even woke up.

She crept to the door and walked outside, shutting it carefully behind her. In the darkness, she bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, but she kept herself from kept herself from crying. She was on her own now. She had to be strong.

Taking a few steadying breaths, she started down the path to New Bark Town, leaving only the note on the table behind her.

_Mom, Dad,_

_Professor Elm sent me to do something important. I'm leaving with Ringo._

_I love you._

* * *

It was already ten o'clock, but we were still having dinner. My mom had insisted, even though they'd gotten back late, that we would eat together to celebrate today.

"So. You're my little graduate now, huh?"

The way she said it made me cringe. "Uh. Yeah, I guess so."

'…_A zeppelin crashed today south of Blackthorn City. Evidence points to a possible impact with a Skarmory, but experts are still investigating…'_

The television blared from the living room and into the kitchen, where the atmosphere had suddenly become kind of tense and silent. It had been like that a lot lately.

"I'm so proud of you," my mom continued, ignoring the change in the mood. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but your father said this was _important_ and that he needed me there to help. You know how he is."

"It's fine." I shrugged and kept my eyes on my plate. "It's not like it was a big thing, they just handed out the diplomas…"

"That's right, this was _important_," my father cut in. "Today was the day of the Oddish mating ritual, which only happens once per year, and you _agreed_ that observing it would be key in—"

My mom shushed him and turned back to me. "So, graduate, what are you going to do now? There's a very nice secondary school in the northern part of the city. It's a little far, but we could move closer, or you could commute by the city line. Or…" Her voice dropped and her face grew into a wide, conspiratorial grin. "Are you going to do what we talked about the other day?"

Oh, Arceus. She just had to bring that up.

"Oh?" My father's eyes immediately narrowed. "What exactly were you talking about?"

"Nothing! We didn't talk about anything!" I shook my head and waved my hands frantically. "What did you say about the Oddish…?"

"Leslie told me he was thinking about becoming a Pokémon trainer," said my mom, who must have arrived late the day Uxie was giving out wisdom. "He said he was going to discuss it with you, too, but I guess he didn't get around to that?" She gave me a raised-eyebrow stare.

I sank my face into my hands. Of course I hadn't talked it over with my father. It wasn't like he would have said yes.

"I thought you were going to continue your schooling," he said, and I groaned at the oncoming conversation. "What made you change your mind?"

"I don't know," I said miserably, my voice muffled. "It just seemed like… Something I could do. I mean, a lot of people in my class went out, and they…"

"And they didn't graduate, did they?" I didn't look up, but I could just picture the look on his face. Sharp eyes, knit brow, convinced that he would talk me out of this. "Now, tell me. You're twelve years old. This is an important time in your life. What do you plan to do when you end up, after running around the countryside for a few years, with a handful of badges and no proper education?"

"I don't know." I knew that was the argument he'd make, but I still hadn't found an effective way to counter it. "But I guess if training doesn't work, I could always go back to school and—"

"No. What if something goes wrong? We can't afford hospital bills _and_ tuition. You could go out there tomorrow and get mauled, and then you would be—"

"Colin!" My mom's voice cut in, sharp enough that I looked up in shock. She had stood up and was glaring at my father, making him freeze for just a moment before he replied.

"I'm just letting him know what he's—"

The doorbell rang, cutting off the budding argument. My mom cast my father one more pissed-off glare, and then left to answer it, I guess because she was already standing up. Either way, it left me sitting alone with my father, and under the full power of his hard eyes. Feeling awkward, I resumed staring at my half-eaten food.

She soon returned, thankfully, with another person in tow. It was my uncle, which was weird; he didn't come by that often. I'd seen him maybe three times in the past few years. Still reeling from the last back-and-forth, I struggled to compose myself and say hello. "Hi. Uh, what are you doing here?"

My mom began to chide me for being rude, but my uncle grinned and waved it away. "I'm here to congratulate you for making it through school. Oh, and to wish you a happy early birthday, since you might not be around for me to say it to you then.

What was that supposed to mean? Either I was getting sent off to boarding school next term, or… Oh, no. She _didn't_.

"Your mom called me the other night," he continued, confirming my worst fears. "She was all excited, saying you were planning to go out and train just like her. Is that right?"

"Maybe. I-I think, uh." I stammered, trying to find an answer that would please everyone. "I don't know yet. Not for sure."

"Great! I bet her that you were too boring to do that. Too much like your father. But I guess she wins, which means that you get this." He pulled something out from the pocket of his sports jacket. It was a little red and white sphere, with a golden "GC" emblazoned at the top.

Wait. That was a Pokéball.

"I made a killing at the casino the other day, so I figured I'd get you a…" My father huffed, and my uncle chuckled. "Problem?"

"He's just being—"

"I don't think my _son_ should be encouraged to gamble."

"Now you're just nitpicking. The casino is _far_ from the worst thing in this town, and I think he's responsible enough to know not to…"

My mom and dad were arguing again, but I barely heard them. My whole attention was fixed on the Pokéball held by my uncle. He turned to me, smiled, and tossed the ball over to me. "Here you go, she's all yours."

I snapped out of the trance and grabbed at it, but I missed entirely, and the ball bounced off my face and onto the ground. "Ow…" I rubbed my stinging forehead and thought loathful thoughts. Everyone knew I was the most uncoordinated person ever, so why did they throw things at me?

I didn't complain, though, because I was interrupted by a flash of light. The ball's opening mechanism must have triggered when it hit the floor, because it had opened up, and the Pokémon from inside was forming. I forgot about my minor injury and bent down to stare. The shape of the Pokémon formed: four legs, two ears, a tail, and…

"Growlithe," I guessed, but I was way off. The actual Pokémon turned as the light faded, and gave me a nervous stare.

"Vee?"

I blinked the spots from my eyes and looked again. "Oh. It's… An Eevee?"

As soon as I said it, the tiny Pokémon startled and bolted away, but it got tangled up by its own legs and ran straight into a chair leg.

"Ha, look at that! She's a klutz just like you."

I picked the Pokémon up cautiously, hoping it hadn't just cracked open its own head. It took a moment to realize what my uncle was saying. "Wait, 'she'?" The little Eevee stirred in my hands.

"That's right, I got her checked and sexed at the Pokémon Center, and she's a girl. You're lucky, they're pretty hard to find. Popular with breeders, too. She'll make a great starting Pokémon."

My heart skipped, and then jumped up into my throat. I turned back to my uncle and replied, a little too quickly, "Starter Pokémon?"

"Well, you're going to be a trainer, aren't you? All trainers like Eevees. You can evolve them into almost anything, which is good, because I didn't know what kind of Pokémon you liked…

"But…" I squeaked past the sudden dryness in my throat. "I'm not a trainer yet. I haven't registered. I don't even know if my parents will let me go!"

"Oh, I'm sure they will. Your mom said she was sure she could get your dad to agree." At that, my mom punched him in the arm. "What? You did."

I barely heard him. The Eevee was struggling in my arms, and I unconsciously gripped her tighter.

_Eevee aren't strong. But they're rare! There's no way I'm raising a girl Pokémon. It's better than the official starters in this region…_

But I wasn't a trainer yet.

_Yet._

I shook the jumbled thoughts out of my head, and tried to think of something to say. "…My dad, he said that the game corner is run by Team Rocket," I said weakly, grasping at the first thing that came to mind, "and that they sell off their weakest Pokémon there, so no real trainer would want them, because…" My voice broke off before I could finish.

My uncle just laughed and clapped my father on the shoulder, causing him to glower and inch away. "Out of the mouths of babes, eh? My sister always liked the crazy one. But I don't think you've got anything to worry about, the Rockets have been dead and gone for years now. Your dad's just making up excuses for being so bad at the slots."

The Eevee was trying to wriggle out of my arms, so I placed her back on the floor, where she twitched her ears and glanced around nervously. I think she felt the same way I did. Then I looked up, and it was a mistake. I saw my father, who was staring down at me and shaking his head. My mom was beaming. My uncle was laughing at something again, and the sound echoed hollowly in my ears.

I had a Pokémon. But I couldn't. It was too soon. This wasn't the plan. I was going to wait, and…

I had to go. I had to figure out what had just happened.

"I'm going to my room!" My voice was louder and more awkward than usual, but I didn't care. I grabbed the thoroughly confused Eevee, who let out a startled yelp, and left the kitchen at a speed just below running.

* * *

"So, we lost. Again." Her Charmander looked up, fiery tail swishing back and forth.

"But that's okay!" she concluded, and stood up straight. "We'll find a way and do it next time!"

The Charmander just snorted and spat a small plume of flame towards the ground. The girl didn't notice.

"Tomorrow we're gonna do some more target practice on the Pidgey, and maybe we can find a new trainer to battle." Most of the trainers in this town wouldn't battle her. She'd developed a reputation, which she was sort of proud of, even if it was annoying. "That sounds fun, right?"

Her discouraged Pokémon just rolled his eyes.

They reached the door to her house, and she pulled out the key to unlock it. She always remembered to lock the door, even without being reminded, because security was obviously important to a person like her.

The house's only other line of security buzzed a greeting as she walked inside. It was a Voltorb, hidden in a gap between the floorboards, that was trained to explode when an intruder came in. She knew this, because she'd made sure of it herself.

"Hi to you too!" She barely had time to wave before running after her Charmander, who she wasn't supposed to leave alone in the house, because he might set something on fire again. He'd wandered into the kitchen, and was currently eyeing the diminishing stock of Pokémon Chow with a look of obvious displeasure.

"Don't worry, once we beat Falkner, we'll have plenty of money to buy more food." He grunted. "Oh, Jira, don't be such a _pessimist_. I'm sure we can do it." She pulled out a half-empty jug of unlabelled juice and drank from it. There wasn't much human food left, either.

She knew they could beat him. All those other trainers did. There was obviously some sort of secret, something her team was missing. But how could she find out what it was when nobody would battle her?

She'd thought about it before. The rest of those trainers were different from her in a few important ways. They usually came from other towns, most of them had gotten their first Pokémon from Professor Elm, and most of them had more than one Pokémon. And most of them were very rude to her.

She couldn't do much about most of those things. Maybe she could find another Pokémon, but there were none around here that she liked. She wanted to train an awesome, giant, ferocious Pokémon, like a Snorlax, or a Lugia, or a Charizard once Gojira evolved. All this town had were Pidgey and Sentret. Sentret were okay, but she was never fast enough to catch them.

If only she had an electric-type, beating Falkner would be easy. There were some Mareep living on the southern route, but they were hard to find, because other trainers with the same idea always came out and…

Slowly, she halted the jug on its way to her mouth, and smacked her forehead dramatically. How had she not made the connection before? She'd never really thought of it as a Pokémon, but…

"Jira! Don't worry! I know what we're gonna do!" She ran out of the kitchen and back to the hallway. The Charmander stayed behind, trying to open a can of food without scattering the contents everywhere. A pile of destroyed cans and discarded food lay at his feet.

"VOLTORB!" She skidded to a stop just before landing on top of it. "Voltorb! You've been recruited!"

The ball-shaped Pokémon turned halfway around, eyeing her distrustfully.

"You're going to be on my team! You'll be my trick! The ace in my hole!" She crouched down and snatched Voltorb up, lifting it into the air. "It'll all be on you!"

"Vuul…" The Voltorb rocked lamely and stared back at its home under the floor.

"Come on! It'll be exciting! You'll be like a hero if you can beat him, and you'll get so strong! I'm sure you want to, right?"

The Voltorb buzzed noncommittally.

"That's a yes!" She grabbed it with both hands and cheered. "Jira, we've got a new teammate!"

Gojira grunted, but didn't come out from the kitchen.

"Now, if you're gonna be on my team, you need a name. Lucky for you, I'm great at thinking up names." She grinned. "You'll be…Voltar. Okay?"

"Vul…"

"Great!" She jumped up and ran to open the door, which she'd locked again from the inside. "Jira, get up here! We're going to have a late-night training session!"

In the distance, the moon was rising over the mountains in the east. She could picture herself already, standing in front of that backdrop, the silhouetted heroine of her nameless comic. She would raise her fist and call for victory; renew her vow to defeat Falkner once and for all. And her Pokémon would cheer. If she could get the timing of her dramatic speech right, then surely the leader would crumble before her tomorrow.

That was how her world worked.

* * *

_A/N: Yes, Eevee starters are terrible. I hate them too. I'll make it up to you all somehow._

_For the curious, this takes place in the game universe, going by anime rules, with bits from the manga thrown in for fluff._


	2. One Step at a Time

My uncle had ruined my whole plan.

I shut the door behind me and let Eevee jump onto the floor. Then I collapsed into a Swalot-shaped beanbag chair in the corner of my room and tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Why would I want to be a trainer, anyway?

Nobody had thought I would want to do this. Neither did I. Nobody would guess it from looking at my room—there was the beanbag, and a few Pokémon League collectible figures on my desk, but the beanbag was a gift and those figures were going to be worth a lot of money some day. This Eevee was only the third Pokémon-related thing I'd ever owned, and just like the first, I hadn't asked for it.

Well, everyone else in my class was doing it. It seemed like a good idea at the time to say I'd do it too.

I pulled out the Pokéball the Eevee—my Eevee—had come in, and turned it over in my hands. The smooth red-and-white surface was flawless, except for the tasteless gold lettering. I wondered if it would come off.

I couldn't be a trainer. I wasn't ready. Sure, I'd told my mom I wanted to. But just convincing them to sign the paperwork could take weeks, and then I'd have to travel to New Bark Town to register with Professor Elm, because apparently the distinguished Professor was too scatterbrained to do this by mail, and by the time I got my first Pokémon, I would know what I was doing, and I'd know it was the right decision.

And now I had an Eevee. I had a Pokémon, and that was all you really needed to be a trainer. Now I would either have to do it or admit I didn't want to after all. I would have to admit I was wrong to my dad, and to my classmates, if any of them would be left next year…

I saw movement from across the room. My new ball and chain had apparently gone exploring, and was crawling around underneath my desk. I noticed that one of my collectibles had fallen to the floor, and so did she. She stalked up to it and began nudging it with her nose and paws.

All thoughts of Pokémon training were instantly forgotten. "Hey! Don't touch that!" Eevee jumped and darted away, and I ran to retrieve my precious figurine, checking it carefully for any damage. It would be worthless if it got scratched, and besides, I liked to keep my things in good condition.

Then there was a whimpering from behind me, and I turned to see Eevee's tail poking out from her hiding spot under the bed. It was pathetic, and it made me feel just a little guilty. I hadn't really meant to scare her, though I'd done that a lot already. I sighed, and went over to sit on my bed, pulling the trembling Pokémon out from under it and sticking her on my lap.

"Sorry, Eevee." I hesitantly stroked the tuft of fur sticking out from the top of her head. "I shouldn't yell at you. I know." I held the figure in front of her. "You were looking at this? She nodded, slowly. I adjusted the figure's arms and cape into a suitably heroic pose. "See? It's Lance, the dragon master. He's the best member of the Elite Four, the strongest trainer in the Pokémon League. He's got a Dragonite… And an Aerodactyl, but I'm missing that one. It was limited edition and I could never really find one…" Eevee continued to nod, though I doubt she was following me at this point.

I stood up and replaced Lance on my desk, in his position at the head of the Kanto-Johto Elite Four. "Will, Koga, Bruno, Agatha, Lance," I recited, counting them off. "These are the best trainers in the league, Eevee. The best in the _world_." I gazed at the lineup, but for once, it didn't make me any happier. I could swear they were leering back at me.

All new trainers made it their goal to beat the standing champion of the League. It was the only way to amount to anything these days. So that would have to be my goal. But how did you even start to do something like that?

I sat down in the desk chair and buried my head in my arms, groaning in defeat. People like Lance trained Pokémon probably from the day they were born. People like Lance didn't have to worry when they made a decision, because they were smart enough to always be right. People like Lance didn't have to worry about whether their dad was right that they should stay in school because they couldn't be a good trainer, because they were the champion, so they were obviously good and they'd obviously picked the right path in life.

People like Lance were the best for a reason.

"I can't do this, Eevee." I sank further into my chair, and heard her feet scuffing the carpet. "I don't know what I'm doing. I bet you can't even fight, can you?"

She gave a soft whine, and I knew I was right. I sat up and looked at her. "So I have to train you. How am I supposed to do that?" Clearly as clueless as I was, she just shook her head. I muttered a curse under my breath and went to look through the bookshelves. My mom had given me some books on Pokémon theory when I first mentioned this crazy idea to her. Maybe one of them could give me an idea.

I pulled out one of them labeled "The Practical Usage of Pokémon Behavior Therapy as it Applies to…" followed by a bunch of scientific nonsense. It looked smart enough, so I began to thumb through it, stopping at a chapter about "raising young Pokémon". I squinted at the tiny text and began to read.

"'Often, the greatest obstacle to training an inexperienced Pokémon for battle is teaching it to overcome its instinct to flee from a stronger opponent… As shown in Skinner's Rattata experiment, see section four-B, operant conditioning can be key in…'"

My eyes glazed over, and I shut the book. This was too scholarly even for me. Well, onto plan B: make something up. Something helpful and creative. "…Okay, Eevee, tackle that wall."

As soon as I said it, Eevee flinched and backed away. "Come on, Eevee. Please?" She took another step back, and I started feeling desperate. "Please, Eevee. I'm stuck with you as my first Pokémon, and I don't know what I'd doing, and if I become a trainer then we'll have to fight other trainers at some point and if we can't fight then…" Then what would happen? I didn't know. Something horrible, probably.

I suspected I was starting to sound more pitiful than Eevee, but if that was how it had to be, then… "Come on, Eevee, I know you know I'm bad at this, but I'm supposed to be your trainer, and that means I have to teach you to get strong somehow." If I couldn't do this, with an easy Pokémon that was favored as a starter by ten-year-old girls, how was I supposed to train a real Pokémon, caught from the wild, that probably wouldn't even like me?

"Eevee, please, please please please _please_ just try _something_." I clasped my hands and begged her. If this didn't work, there was nothing I could do. That would be it.

Eevee dropped her head, leaving me to panic for a few more second, but then she looked up and gave a tiny nod. I exhaled, so thankful for the fact that she was probably too young to ignore orders for very long. "All right. Let's try it. Tackle the wall."

"…Vii." She scrunched up her little face and started to charge towards it, but just before she hit, she threw her hind legs forward and skidded to a stop.

"Eevee, it's not going to hurt you…" I paused, thought about it, and tapped an experimental finger on the wall. "Well, maybe it's going to hurt a little. But not worse than any opponent would."

"Rii…" Her ears went back and she stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Okay… Okay, maybe we'll start with something a little easier." I went to retrieve my beanbag chair from the corner, was reminded that it was much heavier than it looked, and strained as I pulled it across the room. Finally, I got it positioned in front of the wall. "There. Can you hit that?"

She hesitated. That was a no. I grabbed a few pillows off my bed, and threw them on top of the beanbag, nearly clipping her in the side of the head. I grunted an apology and gestured to the new pile. "It should be easy now, right? Can you do it?"

She examined it, then hunched over and ran forward. This time, she hit it at full speed, and gave a small chirp as the pillows came down on her head. "Ee! Ee-vee!"

Well, it was a start. "Good job, Eevee." I shut my eyes and gave silent thanks that she wasn't completely defunct, and hopefully, neither was I. "Let's do it again."

At least she was listening to me. Not like my parents' Pokémon, or the ones at the Daycare.

"Eevee, you…" I stopped. "Wait. Eevee. You need a name, don't you?" Everyone else named their Pokémon, or at least, that was what I was told. If I was going to do this the right way, then I'd need to find something to call her that wasn't "Eevee". It had to do with a Pokémon's self-confidence, or maybe it was their sense of identity, or, I didn't really know, I didn't listen to all that psycho-babble my mom and dad went on about.

But what could you name a Pokémon? "Uh, I guess you could be… Um…" She watched me in anticipation, which started to unnerve me, until the point where I gave up. "…I can't think of anything, Eevee." She was clearly disappointed. I sighed. "Just keep going, okay? I'll think of something."

As Eevee ran into the pile of pillows again, I went to stare at my bookshelves for a while. Maybe one of these books would have something I could use as a name.

And once I picked a name for her, I would need to figure out what I would be doing starting tomorrow. I still wasn't sure whether I would be training, but if I was, I would need to find a way to convince my dad, and…

I'd think of something. It would all be clear by tomorrow, for sure.

* * *

"Huh. I think we're out of paint."

He breathed silently and didn't answer. Just keep quiet, she'll forget you're here, she'll go away…

No such luck. Her awful white boots appeared next to him, followed by her head, turned upside-down to watch him.

"Did you hear me? I said we need more paint."

Given that he was currently arm-deep into the mechanical guts of a dead machine, he didn't appreciate the implication. "Does it look like I can help you? Go get one of the new recruits to do it."

"Can't. They all got sent to Azalea for that new assignment." She sighed and flopped down next to him. "I think we were supposed to go too, but after the way you botched everything last time, I guess they left us behind."

Once again, he'd been reduced to nothing more than a mechanic. This thing didn't even need a mechanic, it needed a priest. Clenching his jaw, he yanked his arms back and pulled himself out from under the engine. "I'm done with this. You fix it."

Her eyes widened. "You want me to do it? But… Really?"

"I'm not doing this anymore. It breaks a different way every time, it never starts working until after we really need it, and I'm sick of trying to change that. Either you do it, or they can find someone else."

A huge grin broke across her face. "Thank you! It's been ages. Nobody ever lets me work with this kind of stuff anymore, not since… Well, you know."

He rolled his eyes as she got to work pulling apart the pieces of the delicate machinery, and went to seat himself in the cockpit. Unfortunately, the inside was no better than the out and the ripped seat was possibly less comfortable than the ground.

It was true. He'd screwed up last time. But it wasn't his fault. They couldn't possibly expect good results when they only let him work with the incompetents.

He hissed through his teeth and tapped his fingers on the controls. So a little routine information heist had turned into full-scale bloody warfare that ended with most of their men dead or in jail. It _wasn't his fault_. In any case, he didn't deserve to be saddled with… _Her_. Not again.

So he'd screwed up last time. And the time before that. And the time before that. But how was he supposed to make it work when the _same… damn… things… happened… every… time_? No matter _what_ he did?

In a sudden fit of anger, he grabbed the control stick and pulled. To his shock, the motor sputtered, then roared to life. The blades turned, and the whole thing lifted a few inches off the ground before shaking wildly and crashing back down.

_Oh_.

There was a yell, and his partner appeared at the door, hands on her hips. "Hey! What'd you do that for? You almost cut my arms off!"

He neither heard nor saw her—his eyes were shut, and he was swept up in a surge of euphoria so strong he might have been drugged. _This shouldn't have worked_. He hadn't let himself consider that possibility and neither had they. But he'd like to see them laugh at him when he was flying over them with a few tons of firepower pointed straight at their—

He smiled. Forget everything that had happened before. Lady Luck was clearly with him this time, and everything else ought to go through without a hitch.

He extended a hand to his partner, who eyed him suspiciously but climbed in anyway. "Things will be different this time," he murmured, giving a quiet laugh. "We'll make it work."

She studied him for a moment, then launched right back into complaining. "Your stupid bird took my Mankey wrench and won't give it back. And I'm not going anywhere in this till I finish painting. It's dingy. It'd be an embarrassment."

The insult to Ace made his smile falter, but just for a moment. "You can finish," he replied, only half paying attention. "There's still time before our next job."

"Yeah, I guess…" She frowned and stuck her feet up on the console, crossing her legs and making her skirt fall in an unladylike manner. "Hey, Doc?"

He returned from envisioning scenes of joyful carnage just long enough to answer her. "Yes?"

"Time time—we're going to be the very best." She winked and flashed a victory sign.

He smiled and tipped his beret. "That's right, Holly. The very best."

* * *

Five or six hours later, the plaster on the wall was beginning to crack, and I was starting to feel a little better about this whole "Pokémon training" thing. After talking myself through it for a while, I decided that I probably really wanted to go travel and train, just like every other normal kid, but my dad had me backed so far into a corner that I couldn't admit it to myself. If I didn't leave soon, his mind games would work and I would never go at all.

I'd looked through some books and compiled a list of arguments to support traveling, as well as counters to common arguments against it. I figured they ought to be enough to convince both my dad and me.

"All right, Eris," I said, addressing my newly-named Eevee, who opened one eye to stare wearily at me. "Let's go through this again." I cleared my throat, pushed up my glasses, and started reading down the list.

"Number one! A lot of Pokémon professors today have had real-world, in-the-field experience as trainers." I didn't really want to be a professor of Pokémon, but it ought to make my father happy anyway. "Number two: most really good Pokémon trainers started out when they were young, so if I don't go now, then I _definitely_ won't get anywhere. Number three…"

I continued reading off each item, till I got to "Number seventeen: it can't be that dangerous, because ten-year-olds go out and do it all the time." My father saw imminent looming danger everywhere in the wilderness, but that obviously wasn't the case. I didn't know any better ways to disprove it, but I decided this might work against him anyway, since he didn't know anything either.

"Well, Eris? What do you think?"

No response. One of her ears twitched, and she snuggled deeper into the carpet. She was asleep.

Well, I thought it was good. Besides, I only really had to convince my mother, because I'd thought up the perfect plan as well. I'd sneak out early and get everything I needed for my trip (or at least what I could afford), return to the house once my dad left for work (it was a Sunday, so he'd probably be the only one going), then convince my mom to sign my papers (she supported all this, right?) and skip town before my dad could notice and interfere.

It was a great idea, in theory. After all, I really wanted to do this, right? I just couldn't prove it when my dad confronted me. I wouldn't give him the chance this time.

Unfortunately, after I picked up my unconscious Eevee and tiptoed down the stairs, I was greeted by my parents, both of them, sitting in the kitchen and clearly waiting for me.

Should have gone out the back.

My dad still looked kind of angry, and my mom had a strange look on her face, one I'd never seen before. As I watched them, she reached over to clasp my father's hand under the table. The display of parental intimacy didn't really help my sudden onset of nausea

"Uh, hi. Mom. Dad." I guiltily shifted Eris to my side, trying to make her a little less obvious. "I was just…"

"Yes, we know." I flinched. My father's voice was cold and hard as always. "Why don't you come sit down?"

Oh, geez. I reluctantly pulled a chair from the table and sat across from them. Eris stirred and jumped down from my lap. She began creeping over to investigate my mother's Meganium, who was eating breakfast from a bowl on the floor, but balked and ran away when the dinosaur reared its long neck to stare back.

"Now, your mother says she thinks you're serious about becoming a trainer. Is she right?"

"Well, um…" I stared down at the table and picked at the false wooden surface. "I guess… Yeah. I mean, I think so." I could feel his eyes boring into me, and I tried to disappear into my chair.

"Oh, don't be like that." At least my mom was on my side. "Leslie, I think it's wonderful that you want to go out on your own and train Pokémon. Your father and I just want to make sure that you're sure about this.

I was never sure about anything, but like hell I was going to admit that. "Um, I think… I… What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's just that, while training can be very wonderful and fulfilling, it can also be very difficult," my mother continued. "It's something you should only do if you're sure it's what you really want to do. Not because your classmates are doing it, or because you're worried about hitting some imaginary age limit…"

Well, there went my list of arguments.

"You should know exactly _how_ difficult it is," my father broke in. "You all think it's going to be easy, like those movies or make-believe games. But once you get out there, you're going to find that—"

"I know, I know all that already!" I suddenly couldn't take this anymore. "I know it's hard! I know it's not like on TV! I'm not some stupid kid!" I took my eyes off the table and glared back at him. "What do you know, anyway? Mom used to be a trainer, so she knows more than you, and _she_ thinks I can do it. Why should you say I can't?"

As soon as I came down from my rant, I got the sudden sinking feeling told me I'd said the wrong thing. Now my dad was glowering with a strange ferocity as he leaned forward and began to speak in a low, grave tone. "Leslie. I am your _father_. Like it or not, I do have a say in this, and you need to _respect_ my—"

There was a clattering sound. My dad stopped, and I turned back. My mother held my dad by the arm. He turned to glare at her, and she shook her head, whispering something I couldn't hear. Whatever it was, it must have worked; he fell silent, then sank back into his chair, defeated. My mother look back at me.

"Your father and I discussed this last night," she said softly, as though she was trying no to provoke any more reactions from him. "I know you're ready for this. He does, too, though you couldn't get him to admit it. And if you're sure that being a trainer is what you really want, we'll sign your registration forms and you can go."

I took a few shallow breaths. My mouth was dry again, and I couldn't really focus. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eris go to investigate Meganium for a second time. This time, she stayed still long enough to let it curiously sniff her back.

"Yes." It came out as more of a croak, so I cleared my throat and tried again. "I want to go. I thought it over, and I have reasons…"

"I know. We heard you repeating them to yourself all last night." I flushed, and she smiled. "I know you can do this, Leslie. No matter what happens, I'll be proud of you."

My father wasn't quite as proud. He sat there for a few more moments, then loudly excused himself from the table, the cane in his hand punctuating every other step he took. I stared after him, still nervous, then turned to my mother. "Should you… Should I…"

She shook her head. "Don't worry. He just needs some time to accept it." She stared at the stairs where he'd gone, and for a moment, I thought she looked different—tired. But I probably imagined it, because when she turned back to me, she was smiling like always.

The tension was getting to be a little too much for me. I tried to inconspicuously make my way towards the door, but my mother was having none of that, and caught me by the shoulder. "Slow down! Where do you think you're going?"

"I need to get… Stuff…" I waved my hands around, pantomiming leaving or shopping or maybe something else.

"That's right, you are. But you're coming with me. I'll make sure you get everything you need."

I wasn't so sure about that. The last time I'd gone shopping with her, we'd set out to buy a wedding gift for a friend of hers, but we ended up with more junk than we could fit through our front door, and also, I couldn't move for three days afterward. But I didn't have the money to buy everything I needed on my own, so it wasn't like I had a choice.

Besides, a real trainer could get through anything. This would be my first test.


	3. A Lot to Learn

People who believed that a trainer should be able to handle anything had _clearly_ never been on a shopping trip with my mom. I'd made that mistake once, what seemed like ages ago, but now I was three hours older and twenty trips up and down the Goldenrod department store wiser.

I gave a death rattle and flopped down on my bed, letting all the shopping bags crash to the floor. Being a trainer ought to mean you buy Pokéballs, medicine, maybe a backpack. Well, I'd gotten those things, but only because I'd slipped them in while my mom was off being crazy in some other direction. I could still hear her voice in my head. _"You won't need all that stuff till later, when you go on the really dangerous routes. Your Pokémon won't be strong enough for those Potions till later. Nobody really needs a sleeping bag, do they? But this, this is a grappling hook…"_

So I'd ended up with Pokéballs, medicine, and a backpack, but also ropes, a tent, hygiene products, cooking supplies, and an entire new wardrobe, and that wasn't even counting the stuff she slipped in when _I_ wasn't looking. It was ridiculous. I didn't plan to pitch a tent, cook for myself, or find a shower in the middle of the wilderness.

The clothes, however…

I was overcome by a strange new urge. I peered out into the hallway, shut the door, and then dug around in the shopping bags until my bed was haphazardly covered with shirts and pants. I looked them over and wondered which I should try first, while slowly stripping down to my…

"Vee!"

"—_Eris!_" I dove behind my bed to hide myself. "What are you—how did you get in here? I thought you were out—" There was a scuffling sound from under the bed, and I looked down to see my Eevee peeking out from under it. I suddenly felt more prudish than I ever had in my life. "No! Eris, you go—go outside!" Oh, no, the door was shut. "Uh, get—go!"

Her head drooped, and she stared at me with her huge sad eyes. Well, of course. She didn't understand things like "modesty" or "decency". I'd have to explain it to her. Later. I grabbed her Pokéball off the nightstand, and pointed it at her, hand shaking. "Eris, _return_."

She disappeared in a flash of light, and unless my mom's Meganium was going to come in to play too, I was alone. Good. Okay, she was only a Pokémon, but still, that was _really_ uncomfortable.

The mood had been broken, but I was already undressed, so I figured I might as well keep going. I rifled through the new clothes, still not sure which ones to wear first. They were marketed as "trainers' clothes", but they seemed pretty much the same as normal ones—maybe a little better-made, or a little worse. There were fancier designs, but I didn't want to look like an overexcited ten-year-old, so I just bought normal shirts and pants. And cutoff gloves. And a belt for Pokéballs. And a cool red jacket.

So maybe I was just a little excited. So what? At least I wasn't so nervous about it now.

Deciding I wouldn't learn anything about fashion in the next five minutes, I picked some pieces at random and pulled them on. The tags scratched my skin, but it was worth it, because when I stood in front of the mirror to check myself out, the effect was…

Well, my glasses and lack of height kept me from looking exactly like a TV action hero, but otherwise, I felt I was pretty close.

Everything was still happening faster than I could comprehend, but I was starting to feel ready. There was just one last thing I had to do before I could leave.

* * *

"Eris, we're going to catch a Staryu."

She looked up at me, tilting her head. I had let her out of my Pokéball to walk at my side through the streets of Goldenrod.

"We're going to get a Staryu," I repeated, tugging at the stiff collar of my new jacket. It was the beginning of summer, so it was a little hot for jackets, but I'd decided to wear mine anyway. Eris continued to stare blankly. She was probably wondering how _I_ was going to catch a Staryu, because _she_ obviously wasn't going to be fighting one. Well, she was in for a surprise.

"See, I've kind of got a score to settle with these particular Staryu," I continued. "A few years ago, I…" I glanced down at Eris, only to see that she had run off to play with a pebble on the side of the road. Of course. "Never mind, it's not important. Come on, let's get to the docks."

It only took a few more minutes to reach the water. I made sure we picked a spot close to the radio tower, because Staryu apparently clustered there. Something about the signals it sent off—my dad always blamed them when the reception went bad. But I didn't really want to think about my dad right now.

We walked onto a wooden pier, and I stared into the fairly shallow depths. Staryu lit up and got active at night, so now that it was the middle of the day, they ought to be pretty tired. I pulled out the fishing rod I'd taken from the house, baited the hook with only slight difficulty, and cast the line into the sea. "Okay. Shouldn't be long now."

Of course, I was wrong. Close to an hour passed with no activity whatsoever. At one point, I thought I had a bite, but it was just a piece of trash pulling at the line. Eris was lying on her back, basking in the sun and looking ready to fall asleep. I was getting close to dozing off myself. At one point, I did, and I had to grab at the fishing rod when I accidentally let go.

Why wasn't it working? "Maybe Staryu don't eat bait," I mused to myself. "And they don't have teeth, I don't think, so maybe they can't bite onto the rod…" I needed a new plan. I thought for a moment, and then turned to Eris. "You can't swim, can you? 'Cos you could go drag them out…"

She opened one eye and whined. Clearly, she didn't want to, though she might anyway if I ordered her… But that was a stupid idea. You couldn't fight water Pokémon in water, or you would lose horribly; everyone knew that.

The sun was starting to get hot, and I was beginning to sweat. I pulled off my jacket, but it was still uncomfortable. I wasn't used to being outside even for this small amount of time. The skin under my bulky Pokégear was starting to chafe, so I pulled it off and began to play around with the map function. _Oak's Pokémon Talk_ wouldn't be on for another hour or so, so there was no point in listening to the radio…

I placed it on the wood of the dock, and as I did, some text on the side caught my eye. _"Waterproof up to 20m"_.

"Huh…"

"Okay, Eris, _this_ is going to work."

"Ee?" She looked baffled by what I was doing, but she readied herself for battle all the same. Of course, in her case, "Readying for battle" mostly meant trying to beat her natural instinct to run away. Well, as long as she didn't actually run. We'd be in trouble then.

I finished constructing my fabulous new invention, a makeshift Staryu catcher. It consisted of the fishing rod and line, with my Pokégear tied on to the end. "You see, Eris…" I dangled it over the water. "All Pokémon love music. Or so they say. And if Staryu like the radio tower, they should love this." I reeled out the line and watched with bated breath as it… Floated. Of course. The Pokégear was made of cheap, light plastic. Looking around for some kind of solution, I spotted a medium-sized rock and quickly tied the middle of the line around it. Now, the Pokégear sank.

I had to congratulate myself. It was practically genius. If this worked, and I caught one of those Staryu, then surely I would be able to catch any other Pokémon I came across.

"All right, get ready. Once one of them comes out, you're going to fight it." There was another whimper from my side, and I turned to see Eris protesting her role as the fighter.

"Come on, Eris. They're not that scary. They're just Staryu." She shook her head violently, ears flopping back and forth. "I mean, Staryu don't even do anything. They just kind of float." That was a lie, and I knew firsthand that it was a lie, but that was a long time ago, and they wouldn't fool me twice. But Eris just whimpered again and flattened her body against the wood of the pier.

Maybe she would change her mind once she actually saw one. After all, they weren't very intimidating. I dangled the device near a group of Staryu resting on a submerged rock. At first, they didn't seem to notice, and I began to lament the failure of my brilliant plan. Then, a couple of them started to wiggle to attention as the sound blasted through the shallow water. "Come on…" I pulled the line upward, and the Staryu followed. "Yes!"

I continued to pull it up, and finally, the Pokégear reappeared above the surface. A lone, music-loving Staryu followed it, jumping out of the water and onto the dock. It seemed a little small, but that was good, because we probably couldn't beat a full-sized one. "There it is! Eris, it's time for our first battle. Are you ready?"

"VEE!" She squeaked in terror, ran backwards, and nearly tripped over her own tail.

"No, you're not supposed to—just get it with Tackle!" But Eris just stared at the Staryu, frozen in fear. "Come on, we practiced this! Use Tackle!"

By now, the Staryu had noticed it had been tricked out of the water, and it looked ready to fight back against whoever was responsible. It turned to Eris, lifted its body into the air, and began to spin.

"Eris, watch out! It's going to attack!" But she _still_ didn't move, which made her a perfect target. The Staryu launched itself at her, still spinning, and hit her dead-on. Eris shrieked and flew backwards, nearly falling off the edge of the dock.

"No!" I ran towards her, but before I could get there, the Staryu stood on two points and shot a jet of water straight at her. She tumbled backwards again, and I barely grabbed her before she was thrown off the end.

I held her tight against my chest, breathing heavily. She was shaking. "Are you okay?" She didn't answer, and only tried to burrow deeper into my shirt, fur pulled flat against her body. Dammit, this was a mistake. She wasn't ready for this yet.

The Staryu wasn't finished. It threw itself towards Eris again, but in a desperate move, I turned to shield her. It hit me in the back instead, and it _hurt_. I gasped and fell forward, nearly dropping Eris and hitting my head on the wood.

I tried to sit up, but my back spasmed in protest, and I rolled over to my side instead. I saw the Staryu, appearing sideways in my field of vision, preparing for another attack. I had to do _something_, I knew, because Eris couldn't take another blow, and I really didn't want to. I tried again to stand up, but I was too slow. It came again.

I guess it didn't care who it was targeting at this point. It hit me in the side of my ribs, knocking me over again.I yelled out, but through the haze of pain, I noticed that it had also taken some damage from the attack—it was still lying on the dock, trying to get up.

_Vulnerable._

The red flashes from its core stung my eyes like a warning light, and I was seized by an animal instinct. In that instant, I forgot about pain, stood up as straight as I could manage, and brought my foot down right on the center of its body.

The Staryu cried a strange, alien sound, and I felt it shudder. It was hurt. But it wasn't enough. It managed to wiggle out from under me, and reared back one point for another Water Gun. I knew that this was it; I didn't have any tricks left. We were done for.

Then, in what seemed to be a miracle sent from Ho-Oh himself, the Staryu lost its balance and fell forward. As it hit the ground, I saw Eris, standing behind it, head still lowered from her attack. When had she gotten away? Maybe I'd dropped her. She was shaking with fright, and her legs bowed out from under her.

It was trying to get up again, but I couldn't let that happen. Forget catching it; I didn't want a monster like this anyway—I had to get it away from us. Still powered by adrenaline, I pulled back my leg and kicked the foul beast as hard as I could. Its core flashed wildly as it flew in a perfect arc back, off the dock, and into the water again.

I stood at the ready for another minute, waiting for it to come back. It didn't. Either we'd scared it away, or it decided we weren't worth its time. Then I lifted my eyes and saw Eris, who was lying still on the dock. I froze, and my heart started racing as every grim thought flooded my mind. _Now she's dead. You killed her._ Weakly, I crawled forward and placed a hand on her side. Oh, thank Arceus, she was breathing.

I picked her up. She was still moving, still breathing, and even if it was just little shivers of fear, I was relieved. I clutched her tightly again, and she opened her eyes, wild with fear.

"It's okay, Eris," I whispered into her damp fur. "It's gone."

Carefully, trying not to make anything on either of us hurt more than it already did, I laid down on the uninjured side of my back. The sea breeze was comforting, and I was tired. I shut my eyes.

Now the Staryu had almost gotten her, just like they'd almost gotten me back then. You'd think I'd be smarter than that, after everybody warned me. I stroked Eris' head and long ears, and whispered a soft, nearly unintelligible apology.

We'd stay here for a little while, I decided. The journey could wait until after we took a nap.

* * *

"I can't believe you're going!"

"No mom don't _ow!_" My mother wrapped me in a bone-crushing hug, somehow managing to hit all my injured spots at once. I clenched my teeth and tried not to yell out. My dad was standing right behind her and I was _not_ going to give him the satisfaction of knowing his prediction had come true even before I'd left for real.

After a full agonizing minute, she released me, and I gasped for breath. "Mom, I—"

"I'm going to miss you so much!" I dodged and barely avoided another hug. "Are you going to be all right? Did you figure out how to put your backpack on?"

"Yes, mom…" It wasn't like I was stupid. It was a really confusing backpack, with a lot of straps. And it was heavy, too. About half my supplies were tucked away into item capsules and I could still barely lift it.

"Remember, you can call if you need anything. Do you know our phone number?"

"Yes, mom."

"Maybe I should put it in your Pokégear, just in case."

"_No_, mom."

She stood back and clasped her hands together, looking down with a teary-eyed expression. "My little boy, going out on a journey of his own. Remember, we love you, Leslie. Be safe."

I guess she was speaking for my father, too, because he still hadn't said a word.

She didn't want me to be safe, though. That was made clear by what she made me do next.


	4. The Pokémon Professor

The fields of Johto were lovely in the noon sunlight, trim and green and stretching out as far as you could see. But I hardly noticed, as I was far more concerned with the fact that I was about to die.

"NO! NO, VULC, NO! Slow down, slow down, slow down!" My pleas were lost to the wind as I soared through the air, and my Charizard mount, amused by my terror and helpless position, only snorted and increased his speed.

So my mother was the one that convinced my dad to let me be a trainer. Great. I was thankful for that. But she _also_ wanted me to go to New Bark Town on _Vulcan_. My dad's Charizard. Who never listened to me, especially when we were miles above the ground.

I was getting mixed messages.

Maybe she was working in league with my dad, and this was some kind of plan to get me to see "the dangers of training", and they wanted me to crawl back ready to return to school. Or maybe they'd rather see me as a corpse than a trainer. Either way…

"No no no don't do that again you're going to make me fa—NO!" I clung to the Charizard's neck as he started to fly in a loop, my sweaty hands beginning to lose their grip, and my legs falling up and dangling towards the ground above me. I shut my eyes and prayed to every legendary I could think of. Oh, I was going to die.

* * *

_THUMP._

The wind stopped. Vulcan must have landed. Why did I still feel like I was moving?

Something painful hit my back. I yelled, and opened my eyes to see that I had finally fallen off that stupid monster's back. Said stupid monster stood in front of me, lifting its head with a pleased roar. Oh, I was on the ground, the sweet ground.

The clouds above were still spinning, so I shut my eyes and clung to a random clump of grass. I didn't really want to throw up, but it seemed like I didn't have a choice.

_Pull it together. You're a trainer now._ Whatever part of me had decided that being a trainer was a _great_ thing to do was now apparently giving me orders. I told it to shut up— I would stay on the ground for as long as I liked, and right now, "forever" seemed appropriate.

Eventually, though, I did pull myself together, at least enough to sit up and check myself over. Ten fingers, ten toes, and one Pokéball. Somehow, I still had my bag and glasses, despite all logic dictating that I shouldn't.

With my legs still shaking, I stood up and examined my surroundings. I was in a field. Was this it? Turning around, slowly, I caught sight of some buildings in the distance. With any luck, that would be New Bark Town.

"You couldn't have landed me a little closer, could you?"

Vulcan snorted. I knew he was laughing at me.

"Whatever. Just go back to dad, would you?" If they'd wanted me to come back with him, their plan was ruined, because I was never going to get on that thing again. Ever. For all intents and purposes, I was stranded here now.

With another roar, the Charizard took to the sky, his huge wings creating gusts of wind that nearly knocked me over. I grunted and braced myself against the gale. Stupid, stupid Charizard. If I owned a strong Pokémon someday, it wouldn't be a Charizard. It wouldn't even be a flying-type, or a fire-type. Both of those types were dead to me now.

"Guess we should start walking." Realizing I was talking to myself, I reached down and released Eris, who had been healed with a Potion back at the house and was now almost back to normal. "Eris, we're going to go register to be an official team now."

She looked me over, up and down, and tilted her head in concern. "Vi-vi?"

"Oh, I'm all right, just… Stupid Charizard." I didn't elaborate, and instead adjusted my bag and looked off into the distance. "All right, let's go. To New Bark Town!"

I set off at a brisk walking pace. I wasn't fit enough to run, and also, the world was still spinning.

* * *

We'd lived in New Bark Town a long time ago. My parents had worked with Professor Elm, before they left to pursue "research opportunities" at the famous Goldenrod breeding center. I didn't remember much about those days, but from what I could tell, the town hadn't changed. Like always, there was the constant breeze from the lake, turning the windmills that powered the few buildings, and there were trees stretching out for as far as you could see. But that was about it—New Bark was pleasant but boring.

I walked the road to Elm's laboratory, muscle memory taking over where my mind forgot. "This is where I lived before," I explained to Eris. "Official League recommendations are to start from here, because the gyms nearby are easier and the wild Pokémon aren't too dangerous…" My Eevee stared up at me, her face interested, but also sort of blank. I was beginning to wonder how much of this she actually understood. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard to get our first badge, at least. It's just Falkner, and everyone knows he's easy, right?"

"Vii!" Eris circled between my legs and went off to sniff a flower on the side of the dirt road. She couldn't fight Pokémon, but she really knew how to K.O. my hopes.

Eventually, I picked out the right building. It was taller than the rest of them, and shinier, so it wasn't that hard. The lab entrance was busier than I'd expected, given that it wasn't new-trainer season or anything—that had been last month. But these weren't kids, but full-grown adults, surrounding a couple of men in lab coats, and upon closer inspection, they were angry. One woman was yelling as the rest backed her up.

"—And what is this supposed to _mean_?" The woman's face was red from shouting, and she had a good few inches on the scientist, who I suddenly recognized as Professor Elm himself. "You sent her to do _what_? What could she possibly be doing that _you_ couldn't? She's only eleven years old, and she's not safe out there, especially with her—"

"Maybe it's not that bad," broke in one of the men, who was holding her back by her shoulders. "Kids leave earlier and earlier these days, and she did seem like she was ready to—"

"Miss, I am so, so, sorry." Professor Elm glanced, harried, from one face to the next. "Due to the, er, the delicacy, of the situation, I was unable to… And, er, the confidentiality… National security…" Then I saw his eyes lock on me, and his face lit up like a drowning man tossed a lifeline. "Hello! Can I help you?"

Half a dozen pairs of eyes immediately turned to glare at me, and I suddenly felt very awkward. "I… I can wait, I'm just here to… I have to register…" I took a few steps back, but Professor Elm nodded to his assistant, who broke out of the crowd and grabbed my arm.

"Of course! Come in, come in, we'll get this taken care of… And then I'll return to you," he nodded to the rest of the group, "and we'll get this straightened out, just give me a moment and I'll…"

I was dragged inside, and Professor Elm followed, shutting and locking the door behind him. He slumped against a shelf, making it wobble and knocking a few delicate-looking instruments to the ground. "Phew. I'm no good with angry parents."

I just nodded, not really wanting to get involved, as I'd had enough of angry parents for today.

"Things have been a bit busy around here lately, but if you'll just follow me…" Elm led me past rows of shelves and machinery, until we got to the famed area at the back, the one featured in all the trainer documentaries. A research computer, a healing machine, and a table with a row of Pokéballs. This was where all trainers got their start. All Johto trainers, anyway.

It looked messier than the pictures I'd seen, but maybe they cleaned it up for television. Looking around, I saw that one corner of the room was cordoned off with bright yellow police tape. That, I _was_ interested in. "What's with the—"

"National security!" Elm yelped, cutting me off. He glanced around anxiously and mopped his brow. "Sorry, but I can't say… Now, if you could just give me your papers?"

"Oh, yeah, they're…" I tried to reach into my backpack, but ended up just turning in circles until I pulled it off, a process which took a whole half-minute. I found the stack of forms inside—they'd been crumpled on the ride over, but thankfully, they weren't lost.

"Good, good. These all seem to be in order…" Elm looked over the forms, his face absent as always. "Ah! I think I remember that name. Your parents used to work here, didn't they?"

"Yeah." I figured he probably wanted me to say more than that, so I tried to come up with something. "They, uh. They left for 'research opportunities'." Would that offend him? No, he was a scientist, he'd understand.

Elm nodded. "Well, that's how it goes, I suppose…" His eyes drifted down to Eris, and his eyes lit up. "Oh, you seem to have a Pokémon already. An Eevee, I see. A popular choice these days. Do you mind if I examine her?" Without waiting for my response, he bent down to pick her up. I expected her to struggle, but she stayed calm, despite how she'd acted when I did that last night. Maybe Elm was just better at handling Pokémon than I was.

"Well, she appears to be in good health," Elm mused, and I relaxed a bit, but then his serious face changed to a small frown. "Though, she seems rather young…"

I hadn't expected that. "Young? What do you mean? Like, how young?"

"No older than a month, I'd say. A bit too young to be used in serious battles just yet."

"So you mean I can't…" I wasn't supposed to battle with her. I'd messed up already. But how was I supposed to know?

Elm thought it over for a minute before replying. "There's probably no danger from putting her into small battles. You'll have to be careful, though. I'm sure your parents raised you to be responsible, so I trust you have good judgment, but if anything goes wrong, we may have to remove her for her own safety."

'We'? "You mean, like… You'll be watching me?" My mind started racing. Who was going to be after me if I screwed up? Those elite green-haired policewomen? The P.I.A?

Elm saw my face and chuckled, placing Eris back onto the floor. "Nothing too serious, don't worry. The nurses at the Pokémon Centers report back to me in cases of suspected abuse to a new trainer's Pokémon. It's standard procedure. But I doubt we'll see any trouble from you."

"Of… Of course not." I hoped not. I really hoped not.

* * *

After getting my trainer supplies and lecture from Professor Elm, I followed the roads past the east edge of town. It wasn't long before New Bark was just a few scattered houses rising on hills behind me. I stood at the very end of the last dirt path, eyeing the field ahead. A small wooden sign had been posted here, welcoming us to Route 29 and advising all travelers to keep their Pokémon with them at all times. Ahead, it was all grass, trees, and Pokémon.

"All right, Eris. This is it. Once we go past this line, I'll be a real, traveling trainer, and we'll be a real Pokémon team." She pricked her ears and watched me closely, pressing against my leg. There may have been no actual line in the dirt, but I could see it in my mind clearly enough.

"Here we go." I drew in my breath and stepped forward.


	5. You Look Weak

There were no Staryu on Route 29. That was a good start. Still, Eris kept herself pressed against my leg, ears drawn back, looking as nervous as I felt.

I didn't know what I expected to happen. Maybe a flock of Pidgey would descend and attack, or a trainer would step out from the shadows and challenge me, or the earth would split apart and swallow me whole.

But there were no earthquakes or trainers, and only a few docile-looking Pidgey. But the trim green field stretched out as far as the eye could see, and who knew what horrors it might hold?

"Stay on your guard," I muttered to Eris, making her whimper. True, I had enough food and medicine for a small Pokémon army in my backpack, a combination cell phone and GPS on my wrist, and several years of the finest education Goldenrod had to offer tucked away in my head, but my only experience with the wilderness was the horror stories I'd heard from the media, the Net, and my dad, so I fully expected to die at some point during my first day here.

So, my first goal would be to make it through today. With this new purpose in mind, I started walking, before my paranoid thoughts could glue my legs to the spot.

"Don't worry, Eris, we'll be fine." She perked up a bit and looked at me. "I mean, new trainers do this all the time, and they hardly ever die, at least not on the first route, right?" It was the same logic I'd planned to use on my parents, and it was solid logic, though not very reassuring. "We'll train you up, and you'll be the strongest thing here in no time. So let's get started, okay?"

Of course, I wasn't sure how to train a Pokémon. I'd never done it before, and come to think of it, I'd never read about it before. I knew some battle theory, but nothing about how to get them ready for battle in the first place. But considering how Eris seemed terrified of every Pokémon she saw, the first step would probably be to get her over that.

I scanned the field until I laid eyes on the first target of the day. A small, brown Pokémon, smaller even than my tiny Eevee, had popped its head out of a patch of uncut grass.

"Eris, look. It's a Sentret." She squeaked and ran between my legs. "Uh, no, I didn't mean to run… We're going to fight it."

"Rii!"

"Come on, it's just a…"

"RII!"

I sighed and squatted down to her level. "Okay, look, I know our last battle didn't go so well. That was my fault. But the Pokémon around here are a lot weaker. That Sentret's even littler than you. I'm sure we can win this one."

She squinted her eyes and backed up. I guess she didn't really trust me, after last time. I wouldn't trust me either. I _didn't_ trust me. But still…

"Come on, it'll be fine. I promise."

She stared at me for a little while longer, then finally bowed her head. "Vii."

* * *

The first key to battle was to get the high ground, so to speak. Eris and I slipped into the trees lining the path, using them as cover. Since Sentret probably had sharp noses, like most Pokémon, I knew we were supposed to stay downwind—but I wasn't sure how to find where "downwind" was, so we skipped that part. We moved through the underbrush as silently as possible, trying not to catch its attention. A Spearow on a branch cocked its head at us, trying to figure out what we were doing, then flapped its wings and let out a loud caw. I hastily shushed it, but in that moment, I stepped on a loud twig.

The Sentret jumped onto its tail and looked around, ears swiveling to find the source of the noise. I grabbed Eris and hid behind a tree, hoping it hadn't spotted us.

After a minute of heart-pounding tension, I chanced a look back at our prey. It had apparently given up on finding the source of the noise, and gone back to its previous activity, digging a shallow hole in the dirt. Its back was turned to us, and its attention was held. This was as good a chance as any.

"Now!" I whispered to my Eevee. "Tackle it!"

The Sentret looked up as it heard her approaching, just in time to get a face full of fuzzy brown fury. I ran out from the trees to get a view of the battlefield, and saw that Eris had the Sentret pinned down by its chest. "All right, you did it! Now Headbutt it while it's down!"

Eris pulled back her head, but before she could hit it, the Sentret rolled itself into a ball, knocking her off. Then it lifted itself onto its tail, threw back its head, and let out a chittering cry. It was calling for its friends, I realized. We had to shut it up fast. "Tackle it again!"

Eris slammed into the circle on its belly, knocking it backwards again, but the Sentret rolled with the hit and landed upright on its tail. It puffed itself up and hissed loudly to make itself appear bigger and more ferocious, which fooled Eris pretty well, but I knew that it was bluff—it was starting to look pretty battered. One more hit would probably do the job.

"Come on, Eris, it's just acting! Once more, let's finish it off!" Eris straightened up as she heard my command, and ran at it again, jumping before she landed the hit to put her full ten pounds behind her. The Sentret squealed as it hit the ground, and before we could follow up with another attack, it ran away on all fours.

And with that, we had our first victory. It took me a moment before I realized it, but _we'd won our first battle_. Okay, our second battle, technically, but I'd decided that the first didn't really count, since we were outmatched by the Staryu to the point where it wasn't even fair.

I pumped my fist into the air. "Eris! Great job!" The realization that we'd actually won seemed to be hitting Eris at the same time, and she turned to me with a grin.

* * *

From then on, we were an unstoppable force. We spelled death for every Pokémon we came across—as long as that Pokémon was a low-leveled Sentret or Pidgey. We tried to fight a Spearow once, and Eris was sent running in fear as it repeatedly pecked her head. And she stayed away from Rattata, too, I guess because their long teeth scared her. But it was a start.

Once Eris built up some confidence, she discovered that she especially liked chasing Pidgey. The clumsy birds couldn't take off right away, so she seemed to enjoy trying to tackle them before they could fly away. After one long chase, she returned to prance around in front of me, holding a struggling Pidgey by the wing.

"Nice job, Eris. If you keep that up, Falkner's going to be no problem at all." She nodded happily and deposited the Pidgey at my feet, holding it with her front paws. Then, she glanced at my hip, and up to me. I stared at her blankly, and she did it again. She looked at my hip, then up to me. Then down to the Pidgey, then to my hip, then up to me…

I placed my hand where she was looking, and my hand touched her Pokéball. "Oh. You want me to catch it?" She nodded.

Catching a Pidgey. Just the idea was enough to make me laugh. "Sorry, but no way. Pidgey are way too boring." Her ears drooped. "Don't worry; we'll catch plenty of other Pokémon later. But you can let that one go, if you want."

Disappointed, Eris rolled over, releasing her hold on the Pidgey. It gave a loud squawk and flapped its wings furiously as it ran away. Maybe she'd liked it, but the feeling apparently wasn't mutual.

I'd already decided, at the same time I decided to be a trainer (this morning), that I wasn't going to waste my time on boring and common Pokémon like Pidgey or Rattata. I wanted a team of awesome, exotic Pokémon, preferably composed of Psychic- or Dragon-types, because those were the best types. Of course, Route 29 wasn't exactly swarming with Dratini and Kadabra, so it was probably going to take a while to build up my team. But it would be worth it. I wouldn't be like one of those weak trainers that only had Nidoran and Rattata—I would be better than all of them.

* * *

"Hey! Hey, you!"

At first, I thought I'd imagined the voice. I shook my head and just kept walking. But then it came again, closer this time.

"Hey! Are you deaf?" I finally turned around, and saw a kid standing behind me. He was holding up a Pokéball pointed at me. "You're a new trainer too, aren't you? I challenge you to a battle!"

"…I'm kind of a trainer." Internally, I was starting to panic. A trainer battle? I wasn't ready for this. We were still working on _Pidgey_.

Unfortunately, Eris was still walking by my side, and his eyes had locked on to her. "Ha! You are! Come on, let's go!"

My mind raced as I searched for a way out. "Look, I _really_ don't… I just started training today; it wouldn't be fair to—"

"Too bad! You're still a trainer! You have to battle!" He tossed his Pokéball in his hand and gave a cocky grin. "I bet you're scared!"

It was obvious bait, but I fell for it anyway. This kid couldn't be more than ten years old. Who was he to be calling me a coward?

Against my better judgment, I shoved away my doubts, pushed up my glasses, and returned his challenge. "No way! I was just going to _say_, it wouldn't be fair to battle a little kid like you. After all, I was in the top ten percent of my class at the Academy of—"

"Who cares? My Rattata's in the top ten percent of all Rattata! There's no way you can win!" His smile grew wider, revealing missing teeth. "Let's go one-on-one!"

Oh. He had a _Rattata_. My anxiety melted away and I laughed out loud. This was going to be easy after all.

"All right! Go, Eris!" And of course, she hesitated. I sighed. "Look, he said he's got a Rattata. A _Rattata_. It's not like we're going to lose."

"Ha! I'd be scared of my Rattata too! We're the best team here, and we're going all the way to the top!" He enlarged his Pokéball, took a few steps back to make space for the battle, and threw it. "Go! Ratty!"

I had to say, it didn't look different from any other Rattata I'd ever seen—I saw it with the same casual disregard I felt for all others. But Eris seemed to have fallen for the "best Rattata in the world" shtick, and she was wide-eyed and trembling with fear. I rubbed my forehead. "Come on, Eris, he named it _Ratty_. This'll be easy." I nudged her forward, and she reluctantly put one paw onto the battlefield.

"_Ratty-start-it-off-with-a-Quick-Attack!_" The order came too quickly for me to react, and before I could even order a dodge, it slammed into Eris and knocked her onto her back.

"That's—wait—I wasn't ready!" I sputtered, glaring at the kid, who was grinning more broadly than ever.

"Too bad! You gotta be ready for anything when you fight me! Ratty, Tackle it!"

"Wait! Wait, agh—Eris, dodge it!" She perked up at the command, and got to her feet, but it was just in time to get hit by the Rattata again. "No! Eris… Counterattack! Use Tackle!"

She stood up again and charged her opponent, but the Rattata effortlessly dove to the side. The kid was still smirking. "Okay, Ratty, finish it with Bite!"

"What do you mean, 'finish'? This isn't—!" But apparently, I was wrong. The Rattata sunk its teeth into my Eevee's side, and she squealed as she went down. I gaped. "Eris, get up! We're still fighting!"

No good. It was a solid knockout.

The trainer grabbed his Rattata and spun it around. "Good job, Ratty! That's our fourth win today!" Then he turned to me with his leering grin. "Good battle! Ha, you couldn't beat me in a _million light-years_. But I'll let you try again when you know how to fight! I'll give you my number."

"I don't want your number," I mumbled, completely bewildered by what had just happened.

"I'll give it to you anyway. My name's Joey! I'll keep you posted on my training, so you can know how a _real_ trainer does it."

And that was how I lost my first trainer battle to a ten-year-old newbie with a Rattata.

* * *

We camped out under the stars that night. The ground was lumpy and hard even through my sleeping bag, but I was so exhausted by that lying down at all was a relief. After a day of walking, my feet were killing me, and my neck and arms were covered with the beginnings of sunburn. I couldn't remember the last time I had been outside for so long, if I ever had at all.

But even though I was fatigued, I couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the anxiety I'd felt ever since leaving the house for the last time. Maybe I was worried that once I fell asleep, all the Pokémon I'd beaten today would come back for revenge. Either way, I found myself lying on my back for a long time, looking up at the sky.

The stars were surprisingly bright. Back in Goldenrod, the view of the sky had always been blocked by buildings and the orange haze of light pollution. But here in the wilderness, it seemed like I could see every planet, satellite, and jet plane.

I passed the time by picking out the constellations I knew. My dad had taught me some of them a long time ago—he was a big history and mythology buff. There was the Ekans-bearer, the winged Rapidash, Tauros…

Eventually, I had to stop, because the sinking feeling that my dad hated me now was too much. If I went back, would he even talk to me again? My mom would probably talk twice as much to make up for it, and I didn't think I'd be able to deal with that.

Maybe if I got to be really good at training, he'd see that he was wrong. He'd be happy for me, for once in his life. Wouldn't that be nice?

With those thoughts in mind, I eventually drifted off to sleep.


	6. No Stepping Back

_Hey guys, a minor notice for those who started reading this before my hiatus. I changed the last few chapters, just a little bit. So reread chapters 3 to 5, I guess. Or don't. It's all the same to me, but you might get confused._

* * *

"Hello, and welcome to the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center! I'm a nurse-in-training here, so if there's anything you need, then please… Uh…"

Her voice faltered as I pushed past her towards one of the nice, cushioned benches I'd spotted lining the walls of the room. Without removing my backpack, shoes, or glasses, I flopped down onto a comfy-looking one and started to fall asleep.

"Uh… Excuse me… Mister trainer?" I cracked open one eye to see the nurse-in-training standing over me, fingers nervously twirling a lock of her dark indigo hair. "We have dormitories in the back, if you'd like to…"

"No. Here's fine."

Her eyes lingered on my arms and legs. "Do… Do you need medical attention?"

"No."

"…Oh. Then, your Pokémon…?"

I looked down at Eris, who was asleep in my arms. She'd passed out a few hours ago—lucky.

I'd learned several important things today. Number one: never, ever go off the path. Number two: the GPS system on a Pokégear doesn't work when trees block out the satellite signal. Number three: Even the roads around New Bark Town had rough patches, with wild Pokémon, who were just waiting for you to show some sign of weakness. Which just reinforced rule number one: never, ever go off the path.

Long story short, it had been a day of tripping over tree roots, getting cut apart by brush plants, and fighting off angry Pokémon, first with Eris and then by myself, until I'd finally stumbled back onto the path and spotted the glowing red sign of the Pokémon Center rising above the trees like some guiding star. And I wasn't going to let anything keep me from a proper sleep any longer.

"Um?" She was _still there_. "If you just came through all the way from New Bark Town, you might want to get your Pokémon checked—"

"Fine!" I held up Eris, who blinked awake and yawned sleepily. "Here, this is it." The nurse nodded, fidgeted a bit, and then took her, shrinking out of my field of view. Finally, I could get some sleep.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it.

"Hey! You're a trainer too, huh?"

Oh, for the love of Ho-Oh. I opened my eyes again to see the upside-down face of a girl grinning at me. I glared at her as hard as I could, and her smile faded a bit, but she continued to stare. Realizing that nobody was ever going to let me sleep, I gave a loud, pointed groan and sat up. "What?"

She crossed her arms. "You don't need to be so rude. I was just asking if you were a trainer."

"No. Yes. Maybe. What do you care?"

"Jeez, what's your problem?" She leaned in uncomfortably close, eyeing me suspiciously. "You know, you don't seem like a new trainer. You were going to sleep before getting your poor Pokémon healed. I don't think you care much for Pokémon at all."

"I just want to sleep, that's all. Can't you go away?"

"Not yet. First, you have to answer a few questions."

I looked her up and down. She was shorter and probably younger than me, and she was clad in dirty gym clothes, sneakers, and a flower barrette. Unless the Jennies had started hiring new trainers to spy on other new trainers, she wasn't any kind of authority I had to answer to.

But fine, I'd play along if it got her to leave. "What kind of—"

"Are you a _thief_?"

"What? No!" What kind of a question was that? "I'm not a—okay, I'm not much of a trainer, but I'm not a thief!"

She leaned in closer, and I edged back until my head hit the wall. Finally, she dropped her eyes and backed off. "You're right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you, I just…" She fell silent for a moment, then bit her lip, turned around, and ran off into the rooms in the back, slamming the door. Through the walls, I heard a thump followed by yelling. "Stupid! I'm not even looking for an Eevee! I'm so stupid!"

I sighed and rolled over, facing the wall. Trainers were all psychos. I should really get out of this before they got to me too.

* * *

"Passing through the wind… Let's go anywhere…"

An elderly man, bald and bent with age, swept a broom across the floor of the shrine. He was muttering the words to a song he'd heard on the radio yesterday. It was new music, bad music, but it was catchy.

"When you whistle, hmm-hm-hm… The world will sing…"

He'd used to have a Chatot that would sing along with him, so he looked like less of a loon. These days, though, it was just him.

Humming the refrain, he swept the dirt out the sliding door, then sighed and stood up straight.

"Nice song, old man."

The broom clattered to the floor as he spun around. There, sitting on a wooden beam of the ceiling, was a young woman dressed all in black, her face half covered by a mask.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he demanded. "This is a sacred building—"

"Yeah, yeah." She jumped, tumbled, and landed on her feet, despite the short distance between the ceiling and the floor. "Crummy place, though. I was expecting something nicer."

"Miss, if you don't leave, I'm going to call the police."

"Nice try, but I already cut the power."

Of course, the shrine was old enough that it had neither electricity nor phone service, but neither of them was going to back down from their bluff.

"Look, grandpa, I think you know what I'm here for. Just hand it over and I'll leave, easy as that."

"I don't think so." He puffed out his chest, though doing so hurt his lower back. "My family has been tasked with protecting this city's treasure for three generations now, and I'm not going to be the one to let it go."

"Is that so." She reached to her waist and pulled out a Pokéball in a slow, deliberate motion. "You're not going to reconsider?"

"No. I don't care what you plan to do; I will keep the treasure safe."

The intruder pulled down her mask, revealing a hungry, toothy smile. "Good. I love teaching old people to respect their betters."

* * *

I was never a brave person. I never did anything without a backup plan, and that included this trip. The only thing that gave me enough courage to leave home was the knowledge that, if something went wrong, I could always go back. It would be embarrassing, sure, admitting that I was wrong and couldn't handle the life of a trainer. Still, having that plan "B" was important.

If things had continued normally, if I had arrived in Cherrygrove one day earlier or later, I probably would have stuck it out for another week, maybe a month, before giving up and returning home. I would have gone back to school, grown up to be a scientist like my parents, and my pet Eevee would be the only reminder that I ever wanted to be a trainer.

But the world has a way of changing without your consent.

When I woke up, I was confused. Partly because I was lying in serious pain on an uncomfortable bench in a strange room full of people I'd never met, but mostly because all those people were grouped around that bench and staring at me.

"Uh." I blinked and wiped the sleep from my eyes, but they were still there. "What's going—"

"Shh!" Well, with a dozen strangers unanimously telling me to be quiet, I didn't really have a choice. I barely had time to wonder what this was about, when jarring music began playing from behind me.

"Breaking news from channel nine, the latest developments on the hostage crisis in Cherrygrove City…" I jerked around to see an oversized television mounted on the wall. On the screen, a harried newswoman was standing in front of a fleet of police cars, reading from a sheaf of papers and speaking above the news jingle. "The group of criminals, described as, uh, 'masked thugs', seems to have taken control of the waterfront. The police have called in a strike team, but officials say it may only be a matter of time before…"

Oh, so I'd fallen asleep in front of what was apparently the only television in the Pokémon Center. That explained it.

What was this about a hostage crisis?

"There have been rumors that these criminals are associated with the infamous Team Rocket crime syndicate, but these remain unconfirmed. Attempts to communicate with the assailants have ended in failure, and it is unknown whether—eek!" There was a scuffle in front of the camera, and the newscaster was pushed aside. The view blurred, then zoomed in and focused on the intruder's face.

"Hello, citizens of Cherrygrove City." His tone was cool and professional, but I somehow doubted he was part of the news crew. "The media are lying to you. The police are lying to you. We have told you exactly who we are, and what we want." He gave a broad smile and adjusted the red beret sitting on his dark hair, tilting it forward as he leaned in closer to the camera. "Give us the bell. That's all we want. Give it to us, and this town will _not_ be reduced to a pile of smoking rubble by this time tomorrow."

I glanced at the people around me. Most of them were staring in shock, which was how I felt. This place, I was slowly figuring out as my brain woke up, right here, this was Cherrygrove City. This was happening right outside!

"Do not fight back. And don't try to leave. Or we'll shoot you." With that, he ducked his head and lifted both his hands in a victory sign as he left the view of the camera.

The room was silent. Some of the nurses had gathered to watch by now, looking just as terrified as everyone else.

"What do we do?" one of the trainers whispered.

My best plan at the moment was "find out if this place has a basement, and if so, go hide in it," but someone else had a different idea.

"We have to do something!" A voice came from the back of the crowd. A few people were pushed to the side, and a girl popped out in front. I remembered her immediately, and groaned—it was the nosy girl from last night. This time, she was closely followed by a Pokémon I recognized as a Tyrogue. The two of them climbed onto the bench, standing over my prone body.

"We need to stop them!" she shouted. "Let's go out there and fight!"

Her Tyrogue threw up its arms in agreement. "Ty!"

Not surprisingly, nobody else looked that enthusiastic. She examined the crowd and huffed. "What's wrong with you people? Aren't you all supposed to be trainers?"

There was a silence, and then another small girl near the front spoke up. "But I just started training a week ago. I can't fight."

"So what?" She crossed her arms. "I've only been official for _two days_, and I'm strong enough to fight back!" Frowning, she scanned the crowd again. "It's almost tournament season. At least some of you have to be coming through on your way to the Silver Conference. You don't have an excuse!"

An older boy near the back shook his head. "No way. Didn't you hear what they said on the news? These people might be involved with Team Rocket, and you know what kind of stuff they do. I came this far, I can't risk my team getting hurt or—stolen, even, this close to a match." A few other veterans nodded in agreement.

She let out a shriek of frustration, making me cover my ears. "Of _course_ they're involved with Team Rocket! That's why you should all be trying to stop them _right now,_ instead of hiding in here like a bunch of cowards!"

"Roh!"

"You're all…" To my horror, she took her eyes off the crowd and looked straight down at me. "You!"

"—Me?" Now they really were all staring at me. I tried to edge away, but I was caught between psycho-girl's legs.

"Yes! _You_ know Team Rocket can't get away with this, right? You know we have to fight them!"

I swallowed. "Uh. No. But I'm sure the police will—"

"The police can't handle it! If they could, it'd be over by now! They need our help!"

I shook my head. "No. We can't. They, I can't…"

"Do you _want_ Team Rocket to take this town? What if they come for the Pokémon Center next?"

"What could I possibly do about it? I'm not even a trainer!"

"Liar!"

"Well, my Eevee is still being healed…!"

"Then fight for yourself!" She turned back to address the crowd. "_I'm_ going out there. And if anyone else wants to act like a real trainer, you can come with me!"

The crowd broke into general murmurs. I saw the nurse-in-training trying to speak up from the back. "Um, please, nobody go outside. It's too dangerous. I'm sure we have a protocol for this, uh, just please stay calm and let me find it…"

Psycho-girl wasn't listening. "Come with me."

"No!"

"You'd better."

"Why?"

"I warned you!" She motioned to her Tyrogue. "Get him!" He just raised an eyebrow and shook his head slowly, and the girl instantly deflated. Oh, good, he wasn't keen on this part of the plan either. Now if I could just slip away quietly…

I was still pinned between the girl's feet, so I needed to make room to slide out. I tried to push one of her legs to the side, but I must have pushed too hard. There was a yelp and a crash as she lost her balance and fell to the floor.

"Ow…" She rubbed one of her elbows, and her eyes started to well up with tears. Now everyone was _glaring_ at me. And I felt bad about it, really. But I could apologize later. I stood up and began sidling away, but I didn't get far before my own legs were knocked out from under me. I smacked my face on the tile floor, and rolled over to see the girl's Tyrogue standing over me, foot raised and murder in his eyes.

"What?" He continued glaring at me. "I didn't mean to do that! It was an accident!" It was no use. You couldn't reason with a fighting-type. He lifted my ankles over his shoulders and began pulling me with surprising strength—towards the doors.

I cast desperate glances at the people in the crowd, but they just moved away. That left me to claw at the floor and plead for my life. "No! I'm sorry! Don't take me out there!" He didn't stop, nobody intervened, and I despaired. "Why me?"

"Because you need to learn respect for Pokémon." The crazy girl was walking by her Tyrogue, still holding her arm but suddenly looking a lot happier.

"This isn't going to help! They'll just kill us! I don't want to die!"

She scoffed. "Let's just go. We've wasted enough time already."


	7. Small Obstacle

Outside, Cherrygrove City was a ghost town. Not a person was in sight; they'd all gone to hide behind locked doors and windows, and the only sound was a lone warning alarm blaring somewhere in the distance. It was barely recognizable as the open, cheerful town I'd visited a few times before.

"Wait here."

With the girl's Tyrogue still staring daggers at me, I didn't dare to move. And even if I had, one of the enemy Rockets would have surely shot me. Weirdly, though, there were none that I could see—why they hadn't targeted the Pokémon center was a mystery to me, but I wasn't going to complain.

A minute later, the doors behind me slid open, and psycho girl came out, holding my bewildered Eevee in her arms. She handed her off to me with a satisfied expression. "Here. Now you can fight."

"I don't think you understand," I began. "We don't really fight. We're… We're not really there yet."

"Oh? Then how'd you get here, past route twenty-nine?"

"Running, mostly. I mean, unless Team Rocket exclusively trains level two Pidgey, I don't think I'm going to be much help." Eris' ears perked up, and she growled softly. Maybe she felt insulted, but it was the truth. "Look, have you even thought about this? Like, what you're going to do?"

"What _we're_ going to do." I assumed she was talking to me, but she grabbed her Tyrogue's arm as she said it. "And yes, I have a plan. We're going to go in and beat them up."

"Ty!"

"Okay, but I really think we should think it over a little more before—"

"There's no _time_."

"But if we just run in there, we'll be slaughtered. I mean, it's Team Rocket…!"

Before I could finish, Eris leapt from my arms with a snarl. She landed on the ground with a soft thump, then turned back to me and started yapping.

"Eris, shush!" I frantically tried to quiet her, but she pulled back her lip and rose in pitch, making me cover my ears. "What's the matter with you? Someone's going to hear!"

"Sounds to me like she's ready to fight," the girl interjected. "If only her trainer would man up, she could get in there and kick some Rocket as—"

Her barking grew louder, covering up the girl's voice. "Please be quiet! I'll fight, I'll fight, okay?" But it was no use; I couldn't even hear myself over her racket. Finally, I pulled her ball off my waist and pointed it at her. "If you don't—hey, listen up! If you can't be quiet, I'm going to put you back in here." That seemed to work, as her snarling finally subsided, though she continued to bare her little canine teeth. I hesitantly reached down and placed my hand on her ears, and when it didn't get bitten off for my efforts, I picked her up again. "What was that about?" But she didn't answer. In the aftermath of her outburst, I could feel her shaking.

'We don't have time for this," said the girl, interrupting again and drawing my attention away from Eris. "So you want a plan? Mister genius planner? If you're so smart, what do _you_ think we should do?"

"Well, I…" I faltered. "I guess I don't really have one, but if you just give me a minute…"

"We don't have a minute! We're in a hurry!"

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Grasping for an idea, I flipped open my Pokégear and tabbed over to the map. "I think… If we want to have any chance of winning this thing, we have to take them by surprise. Even if they are the real Team Rocket, there can't be too many of them here. I mean, they were supposed to have disbanded two, three years ago, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"So to secure the city, they'd need to spread out." Despite myself, I was starting to grow excited as years spent playing war simulation games started to come back to me. Yes, many of us in the academy had never fought in battle, but we sure knew how to pretend. "If we figure out where they're stationed, we can avoid them until we get to the people in charge. And if we take out their leader, the rest of them shouldn't be much of a threat. But to get there, we'd need a…" My eyes wandered around the scenery, then locked in on a patch of trees. I had an idea. "An aerial view."

"Eris, go catch me a bird."

* * *

The tiny Hoothoot was not at all pleased at being recruited for our makeshift strike team. It struggled and hooted with all its fury, but Eris had had far too much practice in holding down birds. Fortunately, she hadn't completely worn herself out during her outburst, and her grip was true. If anything, the glint in her eyes seemed even brighter now.

Once the Hoothoot finally gave up, I plucked it off the ground and held it to eye level. "Okay, Hoothoot, I need you to do something for us."

"Hoo-hoo!"

"See, there's some criminals around the city, and we need to know where they are so we can eliminate them."

"Hoo!"

"You're going to be our eyes and tell us whenever you see one of them. Got it?"

Finally fed up with being manhandled, the Hoothoot shrieked and pecked at my thumb. In response, I threw it into a tree. "Ow! Son of a…"

"You idiot! That's not going to work," psycho girl yelled from her spot safely out of range of the beak.

"Well, do you have a better idea?"

Without answering me, she walked over to the spot where the evil bird lay, picked it up, and started crooning to it. "Sorry, Hoothoot. He doesn't know how to treat Pokémon." The bird clamped down on her finger, making her wince, but she kept talking in a soothing voice. "We just want to ask for your help with something. There's some bad people here, and we need to find and get rid of them."

"That's exactly what I said!"

"So if you could help us by finding them, so we know where to go, we would really appreciate it."

The Hoothoot glared at her for another few moments, then finally released her finger and stopped struggling. Psycho girl uncapped her hands and stroked it on the top of its head. I gaped.

"How did you _do_ that?"

"You've got to be nicer to Pokémon. Respect them. It's something you wouldn't understand."

* * *

After a quick flight around the area, the Hoothoot informed us, with the help of my map and some diagrams we scribbled in the dirt, that my initial guess was correct—the Rockets were mostly concentrated around the west bank, and their guard increased in numbers the closer you got to it.

"Whatever they want, it's by the beach," I concluded. "I guess we've got to get there and figure out what it is so we can kick them out."

What _did_ they want, anyway? I hadn't thought about it until now, but the man on the news broadcast had mentioned they were looking for something. What could possibly be in Cherrygrove City that was so important, an entire militia of the supposedly-disbanded Team Rocket would swoop down and take it?

"All right," I directed, "we're going to make our way west and try to stay as hidden for as long as we can. Hoothoot, you fly overhead and let us know when you spot an enemy. But try to be discreet about it." The girl nodded to her Tyrogue, who relayed the orders to Hoothoot in their Pokémon-speak. The Hoothoot didn't seem to understand human language very well, so this was the system we'd worked out. "There're a lot of trees around this part of the city, so for now, let's hug the perimeter and try to stay hidden. If we're lucky, we can get a good way in before we're spotted. Got it?"

The girl and her Tyrogue nodded. In my arms, Eris shifted and gave a soft cry. I looked down, and she locked on to my gaze. She was staring with a weird intensity, like she was trying to tell me something.

Psycho girl had apparently noticed this too, and she seemed all too happy to elaborate. "Pokémon pick up on their trainer's feelings, you know. If you're scared, she'll be scared too."

"I'm not scared!" I protested, holding Eris tighter against my chest. "And even if I was, it'd be your fault. You're making me do this."

"You can't make someone be a coward."

Deciding to ignore her, I turned my attention back to my Eevee. "Are you going to be okay?" I whispered, laying one hand on her head. She shook it off as if she was swatting a fly and let out a yelp.

"Vii!"

"Are you sure? Because I don't really want to do this either, but at least you have a choice. You can go back in your ball if you want."

"Vii, vii-vii." She punctuated it with a small yip, which seemed meant to tell me that her decision was final. But she wasn't done. "Ee, rii-rii vii ee-vii _rii_, vi-vi-vi… Vii?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girl's Tyrogue nodding sagely. Unfortunately, I had no idea what she'd just said.

Well, if she really wanted to stay out, I wasn't going to stop her.

"Okay, let's do this before I change my mind." The girl nodded, and with that, we took off into the trees.

It was easy going at first. We stayed as close to the edge as possible, so our path wasn't blocked with underbrush or Pokémon. The Hoothoot flew above us, occasionally coming down to speak in hoots and caws, which the Tyrogue translated with hand signals. He and the girl seemed to understand each other to some degree, which was more than I could say for myself and Eris.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before I realized that the girl was in much better shape than me. I hadn't had any exercise outside of mandatory gym class in years, and she kept sprinting off ahead, leaving me to gasp for air in the back. Soon, I'd had enough.

"Stop leaving me behind!" I wheezed, after the fourth time she'd had to come back for me. "Do you want me to do this with you or not?"

"You're slowing me down," she said matter-of-factly. "Go faster. We're taking down evil, not walking in the park."

"I can't go faster. Just go ahead without me."

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? You're not getting out of—"

Eris popped her head up to attention, and I immediately shushed the girl. "Shh! What is it, Eris, do you hear something?" She laid back her ears and started yipping again, just as a warning hoot came from our sentry. With a reflex honed by two days of avoiding wild Pokémon, I dove behind a tree, making the girl stare at me. "Hide!" I hissed. "There's something coming!"

She made no motion to run, only raising her fists. "Good. Running is stupid, I want to fight something."

"Don't be stupid! Do you really think—get down!" There were footsteps now, crackling on fallen branches.

"No. You said we would run till someone found us, and now they've found us. I'm not running from a fight."

"Then at least be quiet and let me get away!"

"No, you've got to—eek!" She was finally silenced as her Tyrogue grabbed her and pulled her behind a bush. At least one of them had the right idea.

My heart hammered in my chest as the footsteps got closer. Eris made a soft, guttural noise, and I shushed her. The footsteps got louder and louder, and finally, they stopped.

"I thought you said you saw somethin' out here." I compressed my body tighter as one began to speak. "There's nothin' out here."

"I know what I saw, and we're not going back till we find it. You want to explain to the captain's new bitch why we let someone through the perimeter?"

"'Course not, she freaks me out, but if we don't get back to our spot…"

Eris chose that moment to let out an extremely inopportune growl. I clapped my hand over her muzzle, but it was too late. Before I could start running, my path was blocked by two pairs of polished black boots, one belonging to a lanky, greasy man, and the other to some kind of hulking monstrosity.

"Looks like a trainer," smirked the smaller one. "See, I told you. Where there's birds…"

"Shut up." The large and slightly disfigured man grunted before turning his attention to me. "Hey, little boy, what're you doin' out by here by yourself? Thought you'd be a hero?"

"N… No, I…"

"Shut up!" He lifted his foot and kicked me hard in the stomach. The air left my lungs and I doubled over, gasping, but he pulled me back up by the collar and pushed my back against the tree. "Thought you'd mess with Team Rocket?"

He tightened his grip and sneered. My eyes darted around frantically for some form of escape, but all I could see was his shirt, black and emblazoned with a bright red 'R'. His smaller companion stepped up to speak. "Let me tell you about Team Rocket…"

There was a sudden crash as something dropped from the trees. It was the Tyrogue, who landed on the oversized Rocket with a war cry and delivered a blow to his head. The other man reached for a Pokéball, but the Tyrogue charged him with a headbutt to the stomach and an uppercut to his jaw. Psycho girl came out next, jumping up and grabbing the larger one around the neck from behind. In a matter of moments, it was over, and both Rockets fell to the forest floor, unconscious.

I started to sink to my knees, but the girl grabbed me by the hand and pulled me back up. "Come on, hurry!" And she took off again, half-dragging me along behind her.

I was starting to realize where she got her courage from, I thought dimly. If I had a Pokémon as competent and battle-ready as that, maybe I'd be provoking the Rockets too.

We didn't get very far before my legs gave out from under me and I collapsed on the ground. She tried to pull me up again, but I wasn't budging.

"H-hold on… Can't… Breathe…" The pain from the blow had caught up with me, and after the strain of running, my chest was burning; my lungs felt like they were about to collapse. I curled up on the ground and cradled my stomach.

"Don't be… Stupid… You're fine…" Though she was out of breath as well, bent over with her hands on her knees.

Eris slowly approached and gave me a concerned lick on the face; this was technically her fault, but I guessed I shouldn't be angry at her. Still… "Why did you _do_ that? You know you're supposed to be quiet." She backed up a bit with an apologetic look. I just shook my head and refused to feel guilty.

When I'd finally regained my wits and my breath, I sat up, wincing and brushing grass out of my hair. "When those guys wake up, they're going to tell everybody that we're here."

"Yeah, well… Maybe you should go back." It was probably meant as an insult, but it had considerably less bite than before.

"It's too late, they're looking for us. They're not just going to let one of us go."

"And if they follow you back…" Her voice trailed off as she considered the possibilities.

"I guess you've got your wish. We have to see this through to the end."

* * *

That resolution seemed to set both of us firmly on our course of action. Casting me a look that was equal parts apologetic and excited, psycho girl extended a hand downward to help me up.

"Sir, it's not working."

He stood outside the pitiful remains of the shrine, which just this morning had stood proud, though small. Now the walls were charred, part of the ceiling had collapsed, and the whole structure looked close to falling down. He wasn't sure what was happening inside to cause this. He didn't concern himself with Holly's work.

"Sir, there's been no word from the police. If we wait much longer, they'll have too much time to form a counterattack."

Silence.

"Some of us… Or, uh, the others, are worried that they might even bring in the League… I mean, you did say we were—"

Not wanting to listen to the accusations any longer, Doc silenced the grunt with a wave of his hand and pulled up his radio communicator. "Holly, get out here. We're moving on."

"Whaaaat?" There was a crash, followed by a small explosion. "But things are going so well here!"

"If he's not talking by now, then he won't start anytime soon. We need him _alive_, remember. It's time to move on with the plan."

"But I…" Another crash, accompanied by someone's cry of pain. "I'm having so much fun here. Why can't you do that, and I'll stay?"

"I told you, we—"

"Say I can pilot."

"…What?"

"Say I can pilot, and I'll do it."

He muted his communicator and sighed. There was a reason Team Rocket didn't take many female recruits. Their fickle temperament was exhausting.

But if it would get her to behave… "All right, Holly. You can pilot."

She gave a shriek of delight. "Hooray! I'll be right there." Then there was a buzz and a click, and the speaker went ominously silent.

* * *

_Guys... My old beta reader is gone, I think, so I need another one to keep me from pumping out worthless, boring chapters like this. Anyway, due to the delay in posting this chapter, and the fact that nothing really happened in it, the next one will hopefully be posted sooner than usual._


	8. Between Huey and Me

_I apologize for the delay. I met a repulsive manboy who succeeded where others had failed and actually managed to turn me off of Pokémon for the two months I knew him. But he's gone now._

* * *

There were only so many trees in the forest, and eventually, we ran out of them. And by the time we'd reached the end, the activity nearby had picked up, to the point where the Hoothoot was giving almost constant warning calls. Several times, groups of two or three came wandering through the trees, forcing us to duck out of the way until they passed. There was no doubt about it—they were looking for us.

The alarm from the center of town was still droning, though there was clearly nobody to respond to it. As we stood on the edge of the tree line, contemplating our next move, the girl waved the Hoothoot down for another conference.

"How many that way?" she asked, pointing to the south.

"Hoo, ho-hoo." The Tyrogue held up five of its six fingers in translation.

"And that way?" She pointed southwest—to the beach. The Hoothoot tilted its head in thought, hopped onto its other foot, and finally settled for spreading its wings wide with a meaningful hoot.

"A lot, then," I mused. "They're not moving around. Whatever they're looking for, they know where it is."

"Then why don't they take it and get it over with? It's not like they don't have enough people."

"I don't know. But at least it bought us some time."

At that moment, a crackling filled the air as the previously-unattended alarm cut off. There was the whine of a microphone, followed by a voice.

"Hello, citizens of Cherrygrove." Though his voice was distorted by the loudspeaker, I could recognize it as the man from the television. "I see you've chosen to ignore us. A shame. We've grown tired of waiting."

The girl beside me opened and closed her mouth silently, pointing towards the source of the sound. Yes, I was hearing the egotistical Rocket jerk too. No need to point it out to me.

He continued. "In five minutes, we will commence with operation bomb-the-shit-out-of-this-hick-town. This can all be avoided, of course, by simply giving us what we want. I'll leave you to consider that."

The microphone went dead, leaving the air completely silent. The girl and I stared at each other for a moment, and then she spun towards the rocket gathering, fidgeting impatiently. "Come on, come on! Did you hear what they said? We need to hurry!"

"Hang on." I had already opened my Pokégear and was switching between the map and calculator frantically.

"What are you doing?"

"Calculations."

"What? There's no time for—"

"This is bigger than us now," I muttered. "I don't think we can stop them, so I'm finding someone who can."

"There's got to be something we can do," she insisted. We can't just stay here and let them do this!"

I sighed. "I guess we can at least try to keep them busy. If we can distract them for…" I checked my Pokégear, "…ten minutes, they might not destroy this place."

"I can do that." She took a deep breath and started to yell—timidly at first, then with more force—"Hey, Team Rocket! Come get us! I'm over here!"

"No, wait, I'm not—"

Too late. A conveniently passing Rocket grunt was starting to run towards us, already shouting into a radio. "I found them! They're over here—!"

"Hiyaa!" The girl lowered her head and charged out of the trees, headbutting the startled Rocket in the stomach and knocking him over. "All right, let's do this!"

We took off towards the west, running between the small houses in an evasive pattern, but it wasn't long before heavy footsteps behind us told me that our enemies was in hot pursuit. Eris was growling again, but I didn't try to silence her. It wouldn't do us any good.

"Okay, Hoothoot," I began, filling the bird in as we ran, "this plan is all about you. I know you don't like me, but I need you to do this for us, all right?"

"Over there!" The girl pointed down a path where a group of Rockets were gathered. We veered away as I continued speaking frantically to the Hoothoot, gasping for breath every few words.

"And then… when you do that… you tell him, okay? You bring him here." The bird stared at me for a while with its huge red eyes, then nodded slowly. I groaned in relief. "Okay, go! Fly!"

It braced its stubby talons against me, then flapped its wings and took to the sky. I went back to my Pokégear and started the timer I'd set. Ten minutes. We could do this.

We were apparently faster than the Rockets, maybe because we were running for our lives, but we couldn't avoid them forever. They had the advantage of numbers, and I could tell they were slowly surrounding us. It was when I spotted a glint of metal from a roof up ahead that I knew we were caught. Just as I'd feared, a red-and-white Pokéball soared through the air, opening just in front of us with a flash of red light.

The girl shrieked, and I stumbled back at the sight of the Pokémon that appeared. It was a huge purple snake, rising from its coiled position to tower over both of us as it spread its hood and let out a venomous hiss. Eris squealed and burrowed into my arms, and even the Tyrogue shrank underneath its gaze.

There was a shout from the distance that I couldn't make out, but it must have been some kind of command, because the snake Pokémon's eyes began to flash. I instinctively tried to run from whatever attack was coming, but found myself glued to the spot in terror.

There was a whoop of joy from behind me. "Got you!" I recognized the voice as belonging to the Rockets from the forest. The burly one grabbed me by the back of my jacket and slung me over his shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him do the same to the girl and her Tyrogue, while the skinny one picked up my Eevee by the scruff of her neck. I tried to do something, at least kick him in the back, but I couldn't even struggle—my body was frozen.

I heard a third person approach and begin to speak. "Awesome. Remember, I get the credit for this."

"Pft, no way! We're the ones who found them first."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have nabbed them without my Arbok's Glare."

Oh, that's right. Glare. It had a paralysis effect.

_Crap_.

"Whatever. Let's just get them to the captain before they turn this place into a firing range."

* * *

They took us past crowds of Rocket grunts, who greeted us with jeers for us and shouts of praise for our captors. I did my best to ignore both them as my mind filled with dread. I knew they were going to do something unspeakably horrible to us, and we were powerless to even _try_ to fight back.

A few minutes later, our convoy stopped. The end was here.

"That's far enough, boys. Put them here."

I was thrown to the ground unceremoniously, landing face-down on the dirt. There was the sharp sting of a boot in my ribs, and a chuckle from above me. "Paralysis. Nice touch." With a nudge from his heel, the man rolled me over, giving me a straight look at his face—it was the man from the television and radio broadcasts, the leader of this operation.

Most of his face was cast in shadow from the sun, but I could make out a wide smirk. "So. Little boy, thought he'd come looking for trouble. What's he going to do now?"

I didn't respond, focused on trying to will some feeling back into my limbs. I could just barely move one of my fingers—it wasn't much, but it was something. The paralysis was starting to wear off.

"Interfering with Team Rocket is a serious crime. I wonder who you're working for. The League?" He paused as he looked me up and down. "No, that can't be right. Even they wouldn't want a pathetic kid like you. Well, no matter. I'll turn you over to our resident interrogation expert, and we'll draw out your motives and affiliations… Slowly and painfully…"

Suddenly, there was a snarl and a yelp from behind me, and something streaked past my field of vision. The smirk on the Rocket captain's face was replaced with shock as the small, furry bullet rammed into his chest. My mouth dropped open in surprise, because my Eevee, my cowardly little Eevee, had just attacked the highest-ranking Rocket here.

She'd hidden from the Arbok's Glare, I realized slowly. She'd never been paralyzed.

I expected her to come back, but instead, she gave me a cryptic glance and took off running in the opposite direction, through the throng of Rockets. They all grabbed at her, but she wove around them with surprising grace.

I felt sort of abandoned, but she could run if she wanted. We had another Pokémon who knew how to fight.

As the stiffness in my limbs started to wear off, I clawed at the side of my backpack, feeling for one pocket in particular. When I found it, I tore open the zipper and pulled out several vials, each with a different color—red, orange blue, and yellow.

"Here!" I tossed the Paralyze Heal to the girl, who stared at it for a moment before a look of understanding crossed her face. She stood to reach her Tyrogue, still being carried by the man, and pushed the nozzle into his back.

As the medication emptied, the Tyrogue's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed the Rocket's neck in a choke hold. The hulking man's face turned red, then purple, as he collapsed on the ground.

With one captive gone and two of their own men attacked, chaos broke out among the Rockets. One group broke off to chase after my Eevee, while the rest turned towards the three of us who remained. The Tyrogue stepped in front of us and let out a war cry, daring them to fight. A male and female Rocket stepped forward hesitantly, Pokéballs at the ready, only to be met by two full feet of fury throwing them back into the crowd. Others, deciding to forego the use of Pokémon, charged him themselves, but the undersized Fighting-type was deceptively good. He kicked and jabbed those who approached, slipped away from their grabbing hands, and even after several managed to tackle him, lifted them off one by one to throw them away.

By now, none of the Rockets were watching us; they'd turned their attention to the fighting Pokémon who was still, somehow, holding his own against them. We'd been bought enough time that the paralysis was almost gone. This was our only chance. I began running, yelling to the girl to do the same. She glanced apprehensively at her Tyrogue, but then gave a solemn nod and followed.

We ran around the crowd of Rockets, following the direction Eris had gone, our legs still clumsy from the aftereffects of paralysis. The leader saw us and shouted, making them all stop and look around, but then the Tyrogue punched one of them again, bringing their attention back to the fight. It was beginning to look like we might actually get away, when there was a yell that made even us turn around.

"Get back! I've had enough of this." The crowd broke, giving him access to the Tyrogue. "You idiots can't handle one little baby Pokémon? I'll show you how to do it." He pulled out a Pokéball and threw it into the air. "ACE!"

A metallic shriek pierced the air as the light formed the shape of something huge and winged. The white glow faded to silver and red feathers, and sharp steel teeth and talons that gleamed cruelly in the sun. I'd seen this Pokémon before, though only in textbooks and movies, never in person.

"Ace, tear it apart."

The Skarmory dove towards its prey, razor-like claws and wings slashing at its flesh. The girl gave a shuddering gasp as her Pokémon's cries of pain reached us, and began to run back towards the battlefield. I jumped in front of her to block her path. "Don't! They're trying to bait you into coming back."

"But he'll die!"

"_You'll_ die!"

Still, the bloody spectacle was hard to watch. The Skarmory, beak and talons glistening with fresh blood, began to charge again. The Tyrogue dove to the side, but just barely, landing prone on the ground. As he did, he glanced back at us with a stare that even I could read—it was a look of steeled determination.

"If you still have his Pokéball, maybe you can call him back." It wasn't a good solution, but it was all I could think of.

The girl let out a quiet sob and turned away. "No. He wants me to go."

Suddenly, there was a familiar high-pitched yelp, and I looked up to see my Eevee dodge the grasp of a stray Rocket. She caught my eye and yipped meaningfully, before darting away again.

"Let's go. I think she wants us to follow her."

The girl nodded, and turned back one last time towards the battle, tears in her eyes. "Ringo! I'll come back for you, I promise!"

* * *

This wasn't going exactly as planned.

Most Rocket grunts would ask why he bothered capturing a couple of kids who'd wandered across the scene. They were only newbie trainers, and not much of a threat. But Doc, like most of the ranked officers, knew the truth. Left unchecked, even the smallest threats could come back and bite you in the ass. Children were especially annoying—they had that "gift" with Pokémon that let them grow into strong trainers pretty quickly, and their naïve sense of justice meant they would never leave you alone. And of course, if you happened to kill one, even if they deserved it, that was always a PR nightmare. Good luck explaining that one away.

That was why he was going to capture these brats, and find out who sent them, if anyone. Maybe hold them hostage for some easy money if they weren't of any use to him, and scare them enough that they stopped training or at least stayed out of his way in the future. Unfortunately, he'd been assigned a bunch of oafish and stupid grunts with maybe two full brains among them, so it was difficult to capture them on foot. So he had to bring out his backup plan.

He pulled out his radio again and spoke the command they'd all been waiting for.

"Holly, air support."

* * *

"Eris, slow down!"

We were running at top speed, and still, my Eevee kept getting away. She disappeared over hills and around corners with amazing speed. Apparently, her legs had strengthened in the past few days, and now running really was what she was best at.

Eventually, the dirt and gravel roads gave way to sand, slowing us down as it shifted under our feet. Ahead of us was a building, a wooden shack that looked like it had seen better days. I saw Eris standing beside the door, yapping impatiently.

I stopped, catching my breath. "Are… Are we really going to be any safer in there?"

"I think all the other buildings are locked," the girl panted. "Maybe they have a phone…"

Doubtful, but at least going inside would make us less of a sitting duck…

What was that noise?

A sudden wind kicked up the sand, and the air filled with an ominous hum. It got louder and louder, and I placed it just as the source came into view—a helicopter. I was relived for a moment, thinking that help had arrived early, but then the girl tugged my arm, yelling something I couldn't hear, and pointed at its side, where a bright red 'R' was painted. Underneath were the caricatures of what must have been the one Rocket and the Skarmory, and two other figures, which looked like they'd been scribbled by an epileptic four-year-old.

A speaker somewhere crackled to life, broadcasting another voice—female, this time. "Stay where you are, kiddos. I'm taking aim."

"What does she…" Something on the side of the helicopter began to swivel towards us. My eyes widened in comprehension.

"Get inside NOW!" I couldn't hear myself over all the noise, but I began running, hoping the girl would take the hint. Eris did, at least, barking at my heels as we dashed across the sand, urging me to go faster. I didn't slow down even when I reached the door, throwing myself against it. It gave under my weight, falling inward along with me. I crawled inside to relative safety, not a moment too soon, as I heard the whiz of bullets kicking up sand behind me.

Eris crept up to me slowly, her eyes seeking approval. "You were trying to find a place to hide, weren't you? Good girl." She growled softly and pressed herself against me.

"Oh my gosh!" The girl, who'd followed me after all, was standing in the doorway, frozen in shock. I followed her gaze and saw what I'd somehow missed in my desperation to get inside. There was an old man lying on the floor, small pools of blood surrounding him. His clothing was torn, and his body was covered in burns, cuts, and bruises.

I reached out towards him, but stopped, afraid to touch him. "Hey… Hey, are you alive?"

He didn't make a sound as I approached him, and I thought for sure that he was dead. But suddenly he shifted, and opened one swollen eye to stare at me.

"Young man," he wheezed, his voice soft and pained. "Do you know the legend of our city?"

"No…" I shook my head and stammered. "N-no, I don't."

His face creased into a frown. "It is an old tale, and most have forgotten it. But centuries ago, when this town was just a small fishing village, a treacherous storm came through… The waves and rising water threatened the settlement and all who lived there. All hope was lost, but just before they were destroyed, an apparition appeared upon the lake."

"A… what?" But the old man's eyes had misted over; he was lost in his own story.

"The creature fought the roaring winds and beat back the rising waters, keeping them from enveloping the buildings. It remained until the storm had calmed, and then disappeared. That creature… We know it now as Suicune." He paused, his story interrupted by a fit of coughing, but after a few labored breaths, he continued. "On that day, it left behind a treasure to mark its passing—a small bell, which shines like crystal and rings only when the winds grow strong. This shrine was built to protect it, and we have never again been threatened by storms."

My mind went back to the hijacked TV broadcast. "That's… what Team Rocket is after. But why?"

"This bell was formed by Suicune. It has a link to the creatures of myth that we cannot hope to understand. I know there are those who can find a way to use that for evil."

He fell silent again, and for a moment, I thought he was gone. But then I felt his hands, wrinkled and bloodied, pressing something into my own.

"You must not let them take it." He let go, and I uncurled my hand to see it—a small, transparent bell, sparkling in the murky light.

"I can't—"

"You must!" He stared into my eyes with a fierce resolve. "You have been blessed by the legendary beasts once before; I can see it upon you. My family is sworn to protect the bell with our lives, but I have no sons, and I will die here today. Fate has brought you to me—with my death, you must take this honor upon yourself."

"But I—"

"_If you won't come out, I'll just have to blow this place apart!"_ The voice of the female Rocket pierced the silence, followed by a hail of gunfire on the roof. The girl cried out and covered her head, and the old man closed his eyes.

"Go now. May three beasts keep you safe, and may the north wind guide you in this sacred mission."

With that, he fell silent, and I knew he was gone.

I sank back from the body and leaned against the wall, feeling the bell in my clenched hands. The girl next to me had her knees drawn to her chest, and she was shaking quietly, all traces of her earlier bravado gone.

"Do you think we're going to die?" All I could do was nod dumbly. Strangely, I didn't feel too concerned about it. The whole scene felt too bizarre to be real, like we were acting out parts in another person's play.

"I want to get Ringo…" She bit her lip and trailed off into silence.

I shut my eyes, listening to the patter of bullets on the roof. "You know, I tried to tell you this would happen—"

"Shut up! You didn't know any more than me!"

"Yes I do. I bet you're too young to even remember when Team Rocket was around."

"That's not true," she sulked. "Besides, I know they're bad and need to be stopped. And that's enough."

We were silent after that, until I remembered something that had been nagging at the back of my mind. I mumbled my question to her, and she looked at me quizzically.

"Huh?"

"I said, what's your name?" I stammered, my face flushing red as I realized what a useless question it was. What was the point of asking if we were about to die anyway?

She paused for a moment before answering. "…My name's Chris, that's short for—" She was cut off as a stray bullet burst through a nearby window, showering glass and making us flinch.

"Oh. Uh, I'm Leslie. Not short for anything."

Dust and splinters rained down from the rafters; the building couldn't hold much longer. Just then, the alarm on my watch began beeping. The countdown had reached zero.

I sighed. "It's all right. We made it."

"We did?"

"The plan…" My voice cracked, so I steadied myself and tried again, reciting the scheme I'd stuck together from years of math problems and useless academic facts. "A small bird Pokémon flying north-northwest from Cherrygrove City flies forty kilometers per hour in favorable winds. If it doesn't stop along the way, it can reach Violet City in about eight minutes. So someone should be coming right—"

And with that, the building collapsed.


	9. Just Do What You Can

_Hold on to your eyeballs, people; lots of perspective shifts in this one. I'll try to keep it as coherent as possible—it's the last time for a while that I'll pull this shit, I promise. God, I'm so terrible at large-scale fight scenes._

_Also, new title. Never did like the old one._

_Thanks to those of you who've stuck with me this long. You're the best._

* * *

"Holly, what's going on over there?"

The sound of machine-gun fire cut out, only to be replaced by his lieutenant's voice. "Kids ran in the building. I'm trying to get them out."

"I'm sure there's another way. If you bring down the building, you might kill that old man, or break the…"

No! He scolded himself. That was how they'd done it before. Just like with the helicopter, it was time to try a different approach. A slow smile spread across his face, and he spoke into the radio again.

"Actually. Never mind. Burn it all down."

"With pleasure."

Better to see it destroyed than in the hands of an enemy.

* * *

Sneaking into the Violet City gym had been easy. Convincing the arrogant Fearow to fly her after Falkner was the hard part.

"C'mon, Duv. I saw Falkner leave from here. He was in a hurry. I bet it was important. So I need to see what's up." She dodged another shot from his pointed beak, balancing on the rafters with practiced ease.

"If there's trouble, Falkner might need help." Dodge. "I've been waiting for this my whole life!" Block. "…He took Rouca with him, you know."

That line gave the Fearow pause, his talons clacking on the wooden beams as he shifted his weight. His neck twisted back in on itself as he stared her in the eye.

There weren't many upsides to losing to the same person over and over, but in this case, it had given her plenty of time to learn about the Pokémon residing in this gym. Duv was a Fearow, newly evolved from a Spearow Falkner had frequently used against new challengers. She'd battled him in the first round several times, and learned two important things: one, he was impulsive. Two, he had a major superiority complex.

"Yeah, I saw. He was flying on him. You know he loves that Pidgeot, he probably thought he wouldn't need you at all." Duv's eyes flashed and he lashed out at her again, striking her on the arm. "Ow! Okay, you got me. You know it's true, though."

She watched the wheels turn in his head as his rage and jealously towards the elder bird Pokémon built up. When he stiffened his wings, she knew he was ready. She pulled her goggles over her eyes and pointed south.

"Let's go."

* * *

Chris saw it from behind a pile of rubble. A strange tan Pokémon with large, dopey eyes, incinerating the remains of the shrine with bursts of fire from its tail. She'd never seen it before—it had to belong to one of the Rockets.

She doubted she could get away without it spotting her. But when given the choice, she didn't like to run, anyway.

She lifted a sturdy-looking board from the pile and gripped it tightly. Slowly, she crept up behind the dog Pokémon. It was so deeply engrossed in its work that it didn't notice her footsteps. She kept going till she was right behind it, and then she _swung_.

The sucker-punch caught it on the side of the head, leaving it staggered, but still up. It turned around to face her, its tail smoldering threateningly. But she screamed and swung again, this time getting it in the face. It stumbled backwards, tripping over debris, and she hit it again. And again, and again, each shot punctuated by another shout.

When she finished, the Pokémon was lying on the ground unconscious. She breathed heavily, her mind a blur. She wasn't used to this kind of violence, but if this was what it took to get out of here, to survive…

She was going to go down fighting.

* * *

Doc watched Holly engaged in the battle with the young gym leader. Even with his Skarmory sent in as backup, they had reached a stalemate. Falkner had too many bird Pokémon, and the grunts didn't have enough. Holly couldn't keep track of them all herself and couldn't land a solid hit. This was going nowhere, and they were going to run out of bullets eventually.

It was time to end this.

* * *

It was dark. Airless. Suffocating. I couldn't see, couldn't move, couldn't breathe. My heart pounded in my chest and my lungs burned.

_This is it. You're dying._

No. No, no, no, not now, not like this. I couldn't die here—

Something shifted above me, then grabbed my arm and pulled me upwards. I gasped, clouds of smoke and ash sending me into a coughing fit. There was light now, but I still couldn't see—

"Are you all right?" It was Chris' voice. I tried to catch my breath well enough to answer.

"I… I'll be—" I was alive, but I didn't feel fine. My head was throbbing, there was a horrible, painful tightness in my chest, and I was terrified. Not of the Rockets, or of death, but of something I couldn't define.

I felt something climb into my lap, and placed my hands on my Eevee. She placed her paws on my chest and gave a concerned squeak. I just shook my head.

Had to pull myself together. I gripped my head, trying to gather my senses.

"What—what happened?"

"The roof collapsed. The building is on fire now. We should probably go." She sounded as calm as someone could be, given the circumstances, but I knew she was panicking, just like I was.

I pulled off my glasses and tried to clean them on the inside of my shirt. It didn't help much, but at least I could see now. The building was, in fact, on fire. Oh, that wasn't good.

"Okay. Wow. Let's get out of here." I pushed myself to my feet, knocking a surprised Eris off my lab, and was suddenly overtaken by a wave of dizziness and nausea. I swayed, but Chris grabbed my arm and kept me upright. In her other hand, I saw, she was holding a wooden board, one end stained red.

"Come on!" She pulled me forward, and we stumbled out of the ruined building.

I wasn't prepared for the scene outside. Well, I wasn't exactly inside to start with, but once I stepped away from the smoke and debris, the chaos was much more apparent. The air was filled with the sounds of sirens, shouting, and Pokémon brawls, and the helicopter was still zooming back and forth, kicking up a small maelstrom of sand and bullets where it went. The majority of the Rockets had moved to congregate in the nearby area, keeping a wide berth around the helicopter but still far too close to us for comfort. The remainder of Cherrygrove's meager police forces had moved in to engage the crowd of grunts, and occasional blasts of fire and poison gas shot into the air.

"What's it doing?" I shouted, pointing towards the helicopter. It was moving erratically, and I could barely see that someone else was up there as well. "Is it chasing someone?"

"I guess," she yelled back, barely audible above the din.

"You think it's Falkner? Maybe he got my—"

Suddenly, the speaker came to life again. It was that same voice. "Citizens of Cherrygrove! Hello again. We've given you all the time necessary for a peaceful surrender—_more_, in fact, but you continue to fight. We've delayed long enough, and since I don't like being off-schedule, we will now burn the buildings and slaughter civilians, we will raze everything to the ground, and we will not stop until we have found what we came here for."

Oh, no.

"Remember that you chose this for yourself. Good day."

The speaker turned off, and there was a moment of complete, ominous silence. And then, explosions. Screaming. Gunfire and the roars of Pokémon. I saw a Houndour breathing fire on a residential home, an Electrode exploding near another. Nearby, a cloud of Weezing smoke enveloping a group of policemen was ignited by a stray fire attack.

A new wave of fear and confusion washed over me. I still wasn't over the experience of a building falling on me, and now this?

"—going." Somewhere in my overloaded brain, I realized Chris was talking to me. I turned towards her.

"Uh?"

"I said I'm going to get him back. I shouldn't have left him there and I'm going to get him back, don't try to stop me!" Her knuckles were white from gripping her bat, her brow furrowed in determination again.

"You can't—" But she was already walking away. I'd thought this a lot already, but this time she really _was_ going to get killed. Did she think the Rockets would really hesitate to get rid of her?

And what the hell was _I_ going to do? If they were really trying to bring the whole city down, no building would be safe. The Pokémon Center was probably the best bet, but going there would be giving up, leaving these people to die. But I'd already done all I could!

But… There was that old man, who'd just died by Team Rocket's hand And Chris and Falkner and everyone else was fighting to protect the city. I couldn't just run—it wouldn't be right.

I grappled with the choice of heroism versus life, eventually reaching a stalemate. Finally, I looked down at Eris. "What should I do?"

Her eyes darted from the sea, to the burning wreckage, the Pokémon Center, and the horde of Rockets. She gave a small shiver, then a bark, and looked up at me. She wasn't running away. So, neither could I.

There had to be something I could do. Even if it wasn't much, I had to try.

At the very least, I could be a distraction.

* * *

A Voltorb was a one-hit weapon, she mused. You threw it once, and it exploded, but then it couldn't do anything else. Voltar couldn't, at least. She was just now learning that it only knew two moves.

Well, better to find out now against random enemies than embarrass herself learning it against Falkner.

"Ji-raa! Heads up!" Her Charmander looked up from his constant stream of Embers to jump back several feet. She hefted her Voltorb and threw it into the center of the crowd, causing the Rockets and their Pokémon to scatter in fear of the impending blast.

But none came.

Maybe it wasn't ready for another go yet. But just the threat of a Voltorb's explosion was enough that the grunts weren't going to take the chance. If nothing else, Voltar was an effective crowd-dispersal tool. Police officers really should use exploding Pokémon more often—they weren't _just_ for bad guys, after all.

She couldn't do much to hurt them, but she could at least try to disrupt their coordination. When it came to defending the town, every little bit helped.

* * *

It was no use. He could keep the girl in the helicopter at bay, but that was hardly the point. They were going after the city itself now. Truth be told, he was just barely a gym leader, and he hadn't known what he was getting into when he came down here—he was ill-prepared, and hadn't thought to warn anyone else before leaving. This was too much. He didn't have the power to stop them.

Cherrygrove City was lost.

* * *

One by one, I drew them out, bringing them behind buildings and trees. I stuck to the ones without Pokémon, catching their attention one by one. Between Falkner, the police, and presumably Chris, not to mention their objective of destroying the city, they were spread thin, and they were usually too impulsive to bring their cohorts with them. Once they were away, Eris and I could take them down. Neither of us was much of a fighter, but she could hit them in the stomach or bite their ankles, keeping them distracted until I could kick them somewhere it hurt. Once they were out of commission, I moved on to someone else…

But it didn't work. Eventually, they wised up, and started coming after me in a group. And now, once again, I was running for my life.

The chase was led by the deformed Rocket and the skinny one who'd come after me before. I guess they were really, _really_ intent on getting credit for my capture. I tried to lose them, but around every corner, more Rockets joined the hunt. Eventually I ended back at the beach, and had nowhere left to run or hide.

I reached into my pocket, gripping the bell inside. The Rockets strode forward, and I stepped back, feeling the surf washing over my shoes. There was nowhere to go from here. I should have given up, gone back to the Pokémon Center. Then I could have kept this safe, like the old man in the shrine had trusted me to do. Instead, I was a fool, I'd tried to be a hero, and now I was going to die.

Or, I thought I was. But then… Well, I wasn't sure what happened after that.

It was all a blur. One moment I was standing there, gripping the small glass bell. Then there was a pulse of strange, warm energy, like a heartbeat, or…

Like a wave.

And then all the Rockets were backing off. I didn't know why until I saw the huge shadow growing in front of me. Turning around, I saw a huge wall of water rising from the otherwise still sea. I scrambled backwards and ran, not caring that it was in the same direction of the Rockets, getting just far enough that the wave crashed at my feet. Rolling onto my back, I saw something else rise out of the surf—but it wasn't a wave.

The sight was riveting. A huge creature, the same pale blue as the sea, with a crystal horn and regal purple mane, appearing framed by the waves. It stood there for a moment, balanced on the crests and foam, then turned its head towards the sky and roared.

This Pokémon… I'd seen it before, but only in books, shows, movies. It was a legend. How had it come here?

"_On that day, it left behind a treasure to mark its passing…"_

The first roar had sent the Rockets running. As it bellowed again, I clutched Eris against my chest, frozen in my spot as clouds gathered above. Rain began to fall, shockingly cold in the summer air.

In one graceful spring, Suicune leapt from the water and landed next to my prone form. It stared down at me, eyes fixed on mine for one long moment. And then it bounded away, its footsteps silent on the sand.

My body was still numb with shock, but I forced myself to sit up, to look where it had gone. I spotted it on the roof of a building, just as it shot a beam of ice towards the helicopter. It hit the propeller, freezing it solid and sending it towards the ground. It landed with a crash that I could hear from where I sat. There was another brief moment of silence—and then shouting, from the other side this time. Orders to catch it, to kill it, to retreat, coming from everywhere at once. I saw the man with the Skarmory ordering the others to group up and attack, but his voice was lost in the chaos.

With one final roar, there appeared a vortex of howling wind and razor-sharp ice, tearing into flesh and freezing blood, hitting enemy and ally alike. Anyone who was left standing went running for cover, all semblance of order lost. What was left of Team Rocket scattered, disappearing into alleyways or teleported away by psychic Pokémon. The police officers fled back to the station; Chris and Falkner had disappeared in the confusion, as well.

Within a minute, it was over. Just like that.

Its work done, Suicune's form shimmered, then disappeared, vanishing into thin air. As the rain let up, I stayed on the beach for a while longer, watching smoke rise from the helicopter wreckage, marveling over what I had seen.

* * *

Chris had been caught in the very edge of the vortex as she'd brought her Tyrogue to safety. She'd done her best to shield him from it, bracing herself in place as her back was pelted by what felt like tiny shards of glass. She should have kept running, tried to find safety, but for a moment, she was awestruck, and her mind blocked out the pain. This power—she'd never seen anything on this scale, not at the tournament matches her father had brought her to or the Pokéathlon events she'd watched on TV. This something primal—something legendary.

As she weathered the storm, she was suddenly made aware of her place in the world. More than anything, she felt very, very small.

* * *

She hated to admit it, but Falkner had been right. When the legendary Pokémon had appeared, it had, in fact, been a good time to cut and run.

From the back of the Fearow, she had an excellent view of the destruction it caused. The blood and snow, the carnage, the injured bodies lying on the ground. In the coming days, the media would spin its own stories about what had happened here, but she knew exactly what it was.

This was the power of an angry god.


	10. A Wimp Like You

_Blood. My hands, my clothes, the ground, all stained red. Around me, there are the sounds of battle, but I only see her, my Eevee, lying limp on the ground. I cradle her lifeless body, and the world falls away, until I hear a _

_**click**_

_and look up to see the gun—_

* * *

I sat up straight, panting and drenched in sweat. My mind and heart raced as I took in the room around me. White sheets, blank walls, bunk beds… the Pokémon center dorms. My Eevee was curled beside me, apparently oblivious to my thrashing, deep in sleep and definitely alive.

_A dream. Just a dream._

I jumped as a sudden buzzing came from the bedside table. I groped around blindly, my hand passing over my glasses and Pokédex until it finally landed on my Pokégear. I flipped it open and put it to my ear. "Ugh… Hello?"

"There you are! We were worried something had happened to you. Listen, don't go into Cherrygrove for now, okay? There's been some kind of trouble there and it's not safe. You should take a detour around it and head straight to Violet City…"

I groaned and rubbed my throbbing head. "Mom… Mom! I know, okay? I'm in Cherrygrove right now, and I know what happened, so you don't have to warn—"

"Ohmygosh are you _okay_? I didn't think you'd get there so quickly—did the terrorists hurt you?"

_Terrorists?_ "No… No, I'm fine, I got here two days ago, but they kept us in the Pokémon Center, so we were safe."

It wasn't like I could tell her the truth. I wasn't even sure what the truth _was_.

"Well, why didn't you call? We were worried!"

"The phone towers were jacked, nobody could call… Listen, mom, I'm okay. All right? Don't worry. I'm heading over to Violet soon and I'll call you when I get there."

"Promise me, okay?"

"I promise."

"And remember, if you ever need to come home, just let us know. We love you, Leslie."

"I know… Thanks mom."

I hung up the phone and sighed. If she knew what had really happened, she'd be flying over to pick me up right now. Out of habit, I checked the Pokégear's display. It was seven AM, I had five missed calls (four from my mom, one from someone named Joey), and… one text message? Who did I know that actually used text messaging?

I scrolled over to the text menu, where the solitary message sat. The "From" line, which normally held a phone number, showed a bunch of gibberish, and the subject line was blank. Hopefully it wasn't a virus, I thought idly as I pressed the button to open it—

My breath caught in my throat as I saw the rest.

"_We know."_

That was it. That was all it said. There was no contact information, but I knew who sent it. I knew what it meant.

I stood up abruptly, grabbing my backpack and walking towards the bathroom. I'd already showered last night, but I felt sick enough to warrant another one.

I peeled off my damp clothes, turned on the water and stepped under the stream, trying to suppress my rising sense of panic. Those two words kept repeating in my head. They knew. They knew. _They knew_. They knew who I was. They knew what I'd done. They knew my _phone number_. How was that even possible? Team Rocket was supposed to be a scattered bunch of thugs, and here they could track me down as though they were the freaking P.I.A?

_What else did they know?_

I remembered the conversation with my mother. _"If you ever need to come home…"_ It was the same thing she'd told me when I left three days ago—that if things got too rough, I would always be able to come back. But now I'd pissed off the reincarnation of one of the most powerful criminal organizations ever and _they knew who I was_, and even if I went back to my family there was no way they'd just let this go…

My chest tightened, and I leaned against the wall of the shower, fighting a wave of nausea. This was bad, so bad. What was I going to do? What _could_ I do?

I could go to the police. But as they'd shown yesterday, they were hardly a match for Team Rocket's force. And if Team Rocket really was coming back, they'd have their hands full protecting people that actually mattered—they wouldn't spare the manpower for someone like me.

I could hide. I could throw away the bell that was still in a pocket of my backpack, leave the country, and live in a barn or a cellar in some backwater town. But how long could I keep that up? How far would they go to find me? Could I even trust anyone to keep my secret?

…I could fight. I could raise a strong team and try to protect myself. Those two famous trainers three years ago had done it, and put Team Rocket into hiding until now. But they had been gone, _insanely_ good. One had even held the title of Champion for a while. I couldn't measure up to that!

So every option was equally hopeless. The only thing I knew was that I couldn't stay here. I had to go… somewhere. Anywhere away from here.

I pulled on a clean set of clothes and walked back into the room, placing my hand on my sleeping Eevee. She was so small, still a baby, defenseless, with no choice but to rely on me to keep her safe from the Rockets and everything else that could hurt us. She wasn't the one who'd decided to get involved in all this—neither was I, for that matter—but in any case, I had to protect her.

I'd planned to stay in Cherrygrove for a few days, or at least get a decent meal before leaving, but everything was telling me to leave, now, to get out of this place that held evidence of my involvement with Team Rocket.

So that's what I did.

* * *

It was still fairly early in the morning when I came across the sign welcoming me to Route 30. Getting out had been easier said than done. The Pokémon Center was being used as a temporary shelter for those whose homes had been damaged in the fight, and it was quickly filling up with people. And Cherrygrove City was full of newscasters and police officers, some of whom had seen me yesterday and wanted an interrogation. I politely declined and stepped away as quickly as I could, slinking away from the crowds until I reached the outskirts of the city.

The last thing I wanted was more exposure.

I examined the map on my Pokégear. Really, as far as wilderness routes went, this one didn't seem so bad. It had a clear path, and look short enough that I could probably walk it in a full day if I hurried. But for once, I wasn't in a hurry.

As the buildings behind us vanished out of sight, I placed Eris on the ground and knelt beside her. "All right. Look, we got beaten pretty badly yesterday. And the day before. Uh, and the day before that. But we're going to take it easy today. Fight some birds, maybe some bugs, and help you get better at battling. Okay?"

She nodded slowly. She still looked a little shell-shocked; I was too, after what'd happened. We both needed time to recover, physically and mentally, so we'd have to take it slow for now.

"Okay. Let's get started."

Soon, we settled into the pattern we'd developed during our time on Route 29. Route 30 had the usual Rattata, Pidgey, and Sentret, but also a new variety of bug Pokémon. Since they were a novelty, I went after the bug Pokémon first. We steered clear of the Weedle and Spinarak to avoid the risk of poison, leaving mostly Caterpie, Metapod, and an occasional Ledyba. They seemed like easy targets, but I hadn't accounted for the psychological effects of String Shot. After several battles that ended with Eris covered in bug goo, she was clearly distressed and looked close to tears. I didn't want to push her into some kind of mental breakdown, so I called it off for now.

I was hungry, anyway. When was the last time I'd eaten? Not yesterday, so probably the day before that. I hadn't even realized until now, but as I thought about it, my stomach started growling.

I sat in the shade of a tree, since the day was already uncomfortably warm, and rooted around in my bag until I found a granola bar, some dried fruit, and a bag of Pokémon pellets. Not a great meal, but I could have something better when I reached Violet City. Not wanting to look in all the ball capsules for silverware and bowls, I put the whole bag of Pokémon food next to Eris. Her eyes got as wide as plates as she gazed upon the glorious bounty of pellets, and she started scarfing them down as fast as she could.

She must have been hungry too, I realized guiltily. But it wasn't like she could tell me these things. It was my job to remember.

After we were finished eating, Eris ran to chase the Pidgey who'd gathered at the sight of our food. I sat there and watched her for a while, feeling too drowsy to get up. My eyelids got heavy, and I had trouble keeping them open…

I may or may not have drifted off, but when I opened my eyes again, there was someone standing over me. I shouted and started back, smacking my head on the bark, before realizing that it was the girl from yesterday—Chris. She and her ever-present Tyrogue both had bandages plastered across their bodies, and they looked about the same as I felt.

"Uh, hey." I waved slowly.

She smiled in response, just a bit. "You're alive."

"Yeah, so are you. That's good, right?" I realized I hadn't known her fate for sure, until now, but I'd been too wrapped up in exhaustion and self-preservation to wonder.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I figured you were, but it's good to see…" She trailed off, biting her lip. I saw she was rubbing her elbow, and wondered if she was trying to make me feel guilty for knocking her off the bench.

"I didn't make you hit it _that_ hard."

Her eyes widened in a look of genuine surprise. "What? Oh. No, no, this, it's… It's an old injury."

"…Oh."

We both fell silent, but I knew we were probably thinking about the same things. What had happened yesterday, how much trouble we were in, what we were going to do now. We were both equally screwed, and our situation was pretty much hopeless.

But there was safety in numbers, at least. I guess that's why when we started off again for Violet City, we went together.

* * *

Oddly enough, we didn't encounter many trainers on the route, but there were still plenty of Pokémon. After I explained Eris' little problem with bug-types, Chris sent Ringo to take on those, while I sent Eris after the rodents and birds.

Once again, I had to admire the Tyrogue's skill in battle. Not that I knew much about fighting-types, but I'd always heard that out of all of them, Tyrogue were one of the weakest. Next to my Eevee, though, he was a juggernaut. He expertly disposed of each opponent, one after another, while Eris slowly struggled against each one she faced. He almost seemed unstoppable.

Until we came across the one bug he couldn't beat.

We'd just moved into a small clearing when Chris let out a shriek. I spun around in alarm, expecting to see bandits or a swarm of Beedrill, but she seemed just fine.

"What is it?"

"Look! Look over there, see?" She was pointing at something, hand shaking with excitement. I turned to look, and was instantly underwhelmed.

"It's… A Heracross."

The blue bug Pokémon was attached to a tree across the clearing, gnawing at the bark. Even with Chris' shouting, it hadn't seemed to notice us.

"A Heracross! Right!"

"So?"

"'So'? It's one of my favorite Pokémon!" She turned to her Tyrogue, and he nodded. "Right! We're going to get it! Ringo, go!"

He obeyed, throwing his weight forward and running for a Tackle attack. He raced across the clearing, building up momentum, then rammed his shoulder into the Heracross' back.

I thought that would be the end of it, but I was wrong. As Ringo slammed his target, he bounced off, the attack as ineffective as though it'd hit the tree instead. The Heracross didn't even budge.

"…Okay! Try again! Another Tackle!"

He hit it again, and again, each time with the same result. The Heracross didn't even seem to realize it was under assault. I heard Chris groan in frustration as she ordered another tactic.

"Maybe if we get it off that tree first—try that!" He jumped onto his opponent's back, bracing his feet against the trunk and pulling. But the bulky bug clung to its tree, burying its face into the bark, and sent Ringo flying off with just a flick of its wings.

"Agh! All right then!" She ran across the clearing and grabbed one of Heracross' wings. "If we both get it together—nngh—we should be able to pull it off!"

I watched as the two of them pulled at the Heracross, to no effect. Every time they seemed to make some progress, it lifted its wings and swatted them away, gripping the tree trunk even tighter. Finally, in an act of desperation, Chris reached into her bag and emerged with an empty Pokéball, throwing it at the bug. It was useless; the ball was smacked away before it could even try to suck it in.

Chris and her Tyrogue both sank onto the ground, breathing heavily. "Why… Why can't we hurt it?"

At this point, I was starting to become nervous. "You know, if you keep hitting it, you're just going to make it mad."

She scowled. "That's the point!"

"But if it comes after us—it's too strong. We'd be dead."

She started to protest, then fell silent, staring at the Heracross. Finally, she sighed and stood up. "I guess… You're right. Come on, Ringo." He objected, but she shook her head firmly. "No! It's too strong. You'll get hurt."

"Roh!"

"No!" She grabbed him and pulled him up. "We'll come back for it later."

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Chris was still sulking.

"I don't get why you're so upset," I ventured, trying to break her out of her stony silence. "I mean, it was just a Heracross."

"But I _love_ Heracross," she pouted. "I saw one once in a show, and it was so strong, it lifted a Steelix!"

"First of all, that's impossible. Nothing can lift a Steelix, they weigh like a million pounds. And besides, it's not like you need one for your team. You already have a fighting-type."

"That's just it!" She came to a sudden halt, balling her hands into fists. "I love fighting-types! I want to raise them, and maybe others that're really strong too! And then we'll be really unstoppable, like—like Bruno!"

"Bruno? You mean, from the Elite Four?"

"Yeah…" She dropped her gaze, suddenly looking embarrassed. "I mean, we have a long way to go till then. Ringo and me. I guess I was just kind of hoping that Heracross would be—"

A sudden sound in the distance made us all jump. It was a loud snap, like a giant Stantler stepping on the world's biggest twig.

"What was that?"

"I don't know. Probably nothing."

"Well, I want to see for sure!" She ran off into the trees. I sighed. At least she wasn't moping anymore.

It didn't take long to find the source of the sound. A small, blue-scaled Pokémon was walking in circles, eyes on the ground. When it came across a thick branch, it stopped, picking it up and joyously snapping it in half with its strong, toothed jaw.

Chris watched it, fascinated.

"Totodile… Like to bite things," I explained, stepping back a bit. My mind was flashing back to all the ill-behaved Totodile I'd seen in Professor Elm's laboratory, and occasionally the daycare center. More than once, they'd almost taken an aide's hand off, and it didn't always look like an accident.

But of course, that wasn't why she was staring. "That's it!" she hissed, turning back to me in excitement.

"Are you planning on catching it? Because I don't think Totodile usually live on this route, so it probably belongs to someone—"

"I know that! I think this is the Pokémon I was supposed to find! A Totodile, a stolen one!"

So first I was dragged into stopping Team Rocket's comeback scheme, and now this. I didn't know what it was about this girl, but I should probably get away from her as soon as possible.

"A stolen—wait, is that why Elm's lab was all messed up? He wouldn't tell me what happened, something about security, I don't know."

Chris didn't answer, but belatedly shushed me. "Shh! That's gotta be him!"

It was a boy, maybe a couple years older than me, with long red hair and dark clothes. Chris' suspicion seemed justified; he looked shady, like the punks that hung outside the Game Corner back in Goldenrod. And after my recent clash with Team Rocket, I couldn't help but wonder…

"Stop right there!" I flinched as Chris stepped out to confront him. Hadn't yesterday taught her anything? "You—you're the one who stole that Totodile from Professor Elm! You have to come with me and—and turn yourself in!"

There was a long, tense moment of perfect silence, as the suspected thief stared at her, then at me. When his eyes met mine, I took an involuntary step back; his gaze was cold and intense, the same way the Rocket boss had appeared.

"Leave me alone." He turned away, but Chris ran to block his path.

I swallowed past a sudden lump in my throat. "Look, maybe we shouldn't—"

"No!" Her voice had risen to an almost hysterical pitch, and her legs were shaking, but she refused to move. "I couldn't stop Team Rocket and I couldn't get the Heracross and I'm _not_ going to lose at this too! If you want to go then you'll—you'll have to fight me!"

There was another brief silence as they stared each other down. Finally, he spoke again. "Is that your only Pokémon?"

"He's all I need! Ringo, let's show him!" Her Tyrogue stepped forward, still showing no fear.

"If it'll get you out of my way. Sneasel." He tossed a Pokéball carelessly on the ground, revealing a small black Pokémon with horribly sharp claws.

It was over in an instant. He ordered an attack, and before Chris could even shout a warning, it was on top of Ringo, face split in a malicious grin. Its claw glowed white, then flew toward the Tyrogue, impaling him in the chest. Chris screamed something incomprehensible, but it did no good; he sank to the ground, critically injured.

Without a word, the red-haired trainer withdrew his Sneasel and started to walk away. Chris ran to her Tyrogue's side, frantic, then looked up at me. "_Do_ something! Stop him!"

But I couldn't. The dream I'd had was coming back in full force.

"What are you doing?" she screamed. "Why won't you _help_ me?"

_Blood, death, screaming, feeling her dead, cold body…_

I couldn't do it.

"A wimp like you can't compare to me. Don't get in my way again."

And he left, leaving Chris to embrace her wounded Tyrogue and me to stare silently at the ground.

* * *

That night, it rained.

It started slowly at first, dark clouds gathering to cover the sunset. Then I felt the raindrops, first one, then another, until the sky opened up and sent us running for cover.

Even under the trees, the downpour seeped through my clothes in a matter of minutes—the jacket I was wearing apparently wasn't water-resistant. Chris had pulled on a cheap plastic poncho, and I wished I could do the same. I recalled Eris and dropped my bag on the muddy ground, tearing through it for some sign of a raincoat or anything else that could protect me, but there was none. It was probably stuck in one of those damn balls.

"Don't you have a tent or something?" Chris shouted above a peal of thunder. I shook my head.

"Probably, but I can't find it!" I pulled up my Pokénav, only to find I couldn't read the screen through my rain-spattered glasses. I pulled them off and held the sidplay against my face, then gritted my teeth in resignation. "Dark Cave—it's about a mile north of here—it's probably our best bet." Chris just nodded silently.

We moved as quickly as we could, but the rain obscured all sight beyond a few yards, and it turned the dirt roads into a mire that sucked at our shoes and made us stumble and fall. By the time we found the entrance to the cave, I was completely soaked through, shivering, and covered with mud, and more miserable than I could ever remember being in my life.

I collapsed onto the first dry ground I saw and reached for Eris' Pokéball, but my fingers were numb with cold and couldn't find the button to open it. Clumsily, I pulled it off, holding it in one hand and pressing the button with the other. The flash of light lit up the cave and temporarily blinded me, and I immediately heard my Eevee keening in concern.

"I know, I know." I tried to keep my words from trembling. "Come on." She climbed into my lap, and I hugged her tightly, drawing up my knees and trying to get some warmth back into my arms.

A flash of lightning illuminated the cave. I saw Chris sitting against the stone walls, gripping her Tyrogue's Pokéball in her hands. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could almost feel her glaring at me.

We stayed there that night, and I eventually fell into a mercifully dreamless sleep, Eris still in my arms, listening to the sound of rain.

* * *

_Fun fact: the Pokédex says that a Heracross can lift an object 100 times its own weight. Heracross weighs 119 pounds, making its weight limit 11,900 pounds. Now, a Steelix weighs 881.8 pounds. Hell, the heaviest Pokémon, Groudon, weighs 2094 pounds. So not only can a Heracross lift a Groudon, it can lift **five** of them, and still have room for a Steelix on top!_

_But then, a Steelix's listed mass and body volume gives it a density slightly less than that of an average cork. The Pokémon universe is weird._


	11. The Darkest Places

The next morning, Chris staunchly refused to speak to me. As the rain slowed to a trickle, we gathered our things in stoic silence and headed down the muddy path to Violet City. She rarely lifted her gaze from the Pokéball clutched in her hands, turning it over and over. The moment the red roof of the Pokémon center appeared on the horizon, she took off in a run, leaving me behind.

Had I done something to make her mad? Even if I had, shouldn't we be sticking together anyway, since we were both targets of Team Rocket? There were plenty of things to be worried about, but honestly, my biggest concern was that I hadn't had a real meal in two days, and my stomach was starting to protest.

I made my way to the Pokémon center, trying to move slowly enough to avoid running into Chris again, but quickly enough that I wouldn't miss breakfast. Luckily, for once my timing was perfect. After checking my Pokédex to verify my trainer account, the nurse at the counter pointed me towards the cafeteria.

It was late in the morning, so the food was thoroughly picked over, but it was still the most beautiful thing I'd seen in days. A whole buffet, lined with pastries and cereals and assorted breakfast meats piled on platters and warming trays. I stacked a plate high with pancakes and syrup, then sat down and began to stuff myself with delicious food, until something small and fuzzy blocked the path from my plate to my mouth. I looked down to see Eris on my lap, standing on her hind legs with her nose poking at my fork.

"No. This is my food. I'll get you yours in a couple of minutes."

"Vii—"

"You can't eat people food, it's not good for you."

"Vuh-ree!"

"Okay, but just because you _can_ doesn't mean you—"

Wait. Why was I was arguing with something that didn't even speak my language? I didn't have to explain this to her.

I shifted Eris from my lap to the bench and began to finish the rest of my meal.

Nope.

Suddenly, something hit the table, making my plate and glass shake precariously. My head shot up, and I saw a girl leaning in to stare at me. Her dark-skinned face was absolutely livid, and the Charmander at her side mirrored the expression.

"_You_."

"…Me?"

"Yeah. I was wondering when you'd get here. Come with me." Ignoring my feeble protests, she grabbed my sleeve and led me away from my poor, unfinished meal, back out into the lobby of the Pokémon Center. She walked over to the TV, currently showing the preliminary round of the Silver Cup, and began flipping through the channels, prompting groans and complaints from the other trainers gathered in the room.

"Sorry, do I even know you?" I began to ask, but she only shushed me. Finally, she landed on a 24-hour news channel and gestured at the screen.

"Watch."

'…_causing one Wailord of a problem. But first, the latest on the ongoing investigation into the attack on Cherrygrove City. The culprits, allegedly part of a larger terrorist cell, continue to evade detection. Some reports suggest a group from Sinnoh—'_

"So Team Rocket attacked Cherrygrove," I grumbled. "Great. Can I go now?"

"Aha!" She beamed triumphantly. "See, you know it was Team Rocket, because you were there. But the news hasn't said their name at _all_."

"So maybe they just don't know. Does it really matter?"

"But there were news people there. I saw them. They have to know. So why aren't they saying anything?" She waited for me to respond; when my expression didn't change, she gave an exasperated sigh. "It's a _conspiracy_."

So at this point, I had two options. I could listen to a mentally unhinged girl rant about things that would probably get me into trouble, or I could finish my breakfast before it got cold and maybe even go back for seconds.

I chose food.

"You'll be sorry!" she shouted after me as I headed back into the cafeteria.

"Yeah, I'm already sorry."

I went back to my table, intent on finishing my food in peace, only to find my plate empty and my Eevee's face covered in syrup and a guilty look.

* * *

I wasted the rest of the day inside the Pokémon Center, watching TV in the common room and taking occasional naps. I kept my word and called my mother, assuring her I'd arrived in one piece. Once again, she told me to stay safe, and all I could do was silently agree.

I wrote up a list of things to do while in Violet City. I'd have to visit the Pokémon Gym at some point, but before I made my first gym challenge, I wanted to have some more experience, and maybe a second Pokémon. Sprout Tower would be good for training, since the monks there were supposedly always open to battling new trainers. But most importantly, I'd have to visit the Ruins of Alph. I'd always wanted to go there—it was one of the most historic places in Johto.

Eventually, it was time for dinner. I guarded my plate vigilantly from Eris this time, not wanting her to get sick from an unhealthy diet the day before we started training in full force. But she just kept up those Growlithe-pup eyes until I finally relented and got her an apple from the buffet. She proceeded to chew on the skin, rolling it around until she knocked it onto the floor. Then she chased after it there, barking loudly.

"You… _You!_" I spun around to see Chris, her fists clenched at her sides and her eyes rimmed with red.

"What? What did I do?"

"Nothing!" Her voice broke, and she bit her lip before continuing. "That's just it, when I fought—him! You just stood there. You didn't help, you—you just stood there! You just _watched!_"

"So?" With two people yelling at me in one day, my patience was wearing thin—I'd had enough of people accusing me of things I wasn't responsible for. I stood up to face her. "It's not like I could have done anything!"

"If you'd just helped, then we could have—"

"It wouldn't have mattered, that guy was a freak, he was way too strong."

"Well, so was Team Rocket, but when we took them on together—"

I fought the urge to clap a hand over her mouth. "Shut up! Do you want everyone to know about that?"

"Why don't you?"

"Because I like being alive!"

We stared at each other for a moment, unblinking, until I realized how many people were staring at us. My confidence suddenly deflated, and I sat down and returned my gaze to my food.

Finally, she broke the silence. "I'm going back to catch that Heracross."

"Don't be stupid, it's probably gone by now." But my words were flat and unconvincing.

"No. I'm a trainer, and I'm strong, and I'm going to prove it." She turned around stiffly and walked out of the room without another word.

There was a tiny growl, and Eris emerged from under the table, the dented apple clenched in her teeth. I gave a strained smile and patted her on the head. No use dragging personal drama into her life, too.

For the rest of the night, I tried forget about what had happened, both with Chris and that other, crazier girl. I went back to my room and lay on the bed for hours, watching cheesy television on the tiny console as Eris fell asleep on my chest.

It wasn't until I began to drift off to sleep myself that I realized I hadn't seen Chris' Tyrogue with her.

* * *

"What do you mean, closed?"

The middle-aged security guard shrugged. "Sorry, kid. Scientists picked up some weird activity starting last week, and they've got some kind of fancy equipment monitoring it. They don't want anything disturbed."

"But that's—I wanted to see—I was going to study—that's not _fair_!"

"Tough." He returned to his magazine, ignoring my protests.

I stormed away from the checkpoint, fuming. Considering everything else that had happened, it would have been nice if at least this could have gone right…

"Hey."

Not _again_.

Sure enough, the girl from yesterday was standing there, an obnoxious grin playing on her face. "Were you following me?"

"Maybe. A little, yeah. I was bored." She shrugged. "So you want to go see the Ruins of Alph?"

"Doesn't matter. They're closed."

"Well, you know, there's more than one way in," she explained. "No way they can watch them all. I bet I could get you in there no problem."

I eyed her suspiciously. No way my luck would change this easily, but my curiosity was getting the better of me. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. I want to get in there too. I mean, normally I wouldn't, that place is totally boring, but if they don't want us in there, then obviously something really exciting is going on, right?" Her smile widened, reminding me uncomfortably of a high-strung Persian. "What do you say?"

A smart man would have said no, turned around and walked away. But by now, logic and rational thinking had exhausted me. If the universe wanted to kill me so badly, I might as well stop struggling.

"What's your plan?"

* * *

Union Cave was a huge system of tunnels stretching from Route 32 to Route 33. The main entrances were all the way near Azalea Town, but according to Ty—my newfound stalker—there were plenty of other openings that weren't listed on any map. One was right by Violet City, and led to an exit in the center of the Ruins of Alph.

Why weren't they listed on the maps? "Well, the mountain changes a lot. Mudslides, earthquakes, angry rock and ground Pokémon, they all mess with the layout. They only bother to show the entrances that're the most permanent." A pause. "And the safest."

Oh, that was reassuring.

"But I mean, I've done this plenty of times. It's totally safe. And fast. We'll be through it in no time."

Still wasn't reassured.

"Look, it's either this or nothing. Do you want to visit the Ruins or not?"

And so I found myself clamoring through the brush and trees, fighting off the odd Rattata and Bellsprout as we tried to get close to the rock face. With my Eevee handling the rodents and her Charmander (who she called "Jira") tossing Embers at the grass-types, it wasn't long until we reached the right spot.

But I still didn't see an opening—it was all solid rock. "Now what?"

"We've gotta climb a bit." She withdrew her Charmander, then felt the stone until she found the proper handholds. She climbed up a few yards, then pulled herself onto a ledge. "It's here."

I stared in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

She peered over the ledge and rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's not that hard. Do you want to visit—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." I was starting to think it wasn't worth it. I clawed at the stone, trying to find the same spots she'd used, but it was like they'd vanished.

"No, no, you've gotta—move your hand left—your other hand—_my _left—then put your foot… You're _really_ bad at this." As I tried in vain to follow her instructions, I realized dimly that my mom had been right—maybe a grappling hook really was a practical adventuring tool.

After several minutes, in which I'd managed to thoroughly embarrass myself, scrape most of the skin off my fingers, and fall on my abused back twice, I finally pulled myself onto the small ledge. Ty nodded in approval and pointed to a thin crevice in the wall behind there.

"See, I told you, it's not that hard. Now all we've gotta do is get in there, and climb down."

After a few more setbacks, we were finally inside. And it was dark. I didn't know if Union Cave was this dark all over, or if it was just this particular route, but either way, I wished I could find my flashlight.

Just as my eyes started to adjust, I was blinded again by two bright flashes that bathed the walls in artificial light. When they faded, I saw Jira scowling and blinking in the darkness. The flame on its tail didn't give off much light, but it did illuminate something beside it, roughly the size and shape of a bowling ball.

"Flash." At the command, the sphere started glowing with a uniform white light, illuminating the cavern around us. It was still dim, but at least I could see.

"What is that?" I squinted at the light, barely able to make out a pair of eyes beneath the glow.

"Voltorb." I jumped back, and she scoffed, picking up her Pokémon and aiming its light like a lantern. "He's not gonna blow up. Not unless I tell him to. I mean, he almost never does."

I didn't think Voltorb could have genders, but that was the least of my concerns. I made sure to walk several steps behind them as we started off through the cave.

Aside from our footsteps and the occasional drip of water, the cave was perfectly quiet. Eris' ears twitched occasionally, but whatever she was listening to was too far away for me to hear. Caves were popular places to train, so I expected to hear trainers, or distant battles, or anything, but there was only silence. It was kind of creepy.

"So… How long have you been a trainer?" I asked Ty, trying to break through the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Been official for about a week, but Jira and me go way back."

"Oh. Well, you're from around here, right?" She knew so much about the area, I figured she had to be. "Do you know anything about Falkner? I've got to challenge him."

She scowled. "He's mean, and he's tough, and he doesn't like me."

"He's… tough?" That flew in the face of everything I'd heard about him. No pun intended.

"Yeah. He beats me a lot, with his stupid Pidgeotto. It's always the same one, so it gets stronger every time we lose. It's not fair."

"Wait, you've challenged him already? Multiple times?"

She shrugged. "A bunch."

"But how did you lose? You've got two Pokémon. One's an Electric-type. That should be all you need." It was hard to keep the incredulity out of my voice. Everyone had always told me Falkner was easy. I'd pinned all my hopes on that one piece of information.

"Well, Voltar doesn't know any Electric attacks. He can just light up and explode, and he _always_ misses. And Jira can't aim right." The Charmander beside her snorted. "Oh, come on, you know it's true. You never want to practice."

I exchanged a worried glance with Eris, who seemed to have lost what little confidence she had. I didn't even have a second Pokémon. Would I even stand a chance? Maybe he'd laugh me out of his gym when he saw us, and save me the humiliation.

As the cave got deeper, we started to run into wild Pokémon. The Geodude freaked me out the first time I saw one uncurl from the floor, but thankfully Jira knew Metal Claw, which could take out whole chunks of their rocky bodies with one swing. Once again, I was struck with starter envy.

I insisted on having Eris handle any Zubat that came our way. It took a little longer, but we needed the practice. Once we learned to strike them as soon as they came in for a bite, they went down easily, but sometimes they would let out a nasty sonic shriek that left her cowering. It wasn't long before I hated Zubat.

Still, despite my fears, there was nothing we couldn't handle. Eventually, after a long downward slope, we began walking through puddles, and the Voltorb's light glistened off the damp walls.

"We're almost there," Ty murmured. "Just a little further now."

Suddenly, Eris yelped, startling us both. I bent down to check on her, and saw that she was trembling.

"What's the matter?" She whined and shifted her feet, eyes fixed on the floor. "Do you hear something?"

"Rrrrr…" She growled, ears twitching.

"It's probably just a Diglett or something," Ty said. But I couldn't believe that. Not counting battles, Eris had been silent this whole trip; it wasn't a good sign.

"Let's just keep going." I picked Eris up and quickened my pace. But I'd taken barely a few steps before I started hearing it, too. A soft, prolonged rumble, coming from somewhere beneath our feet.

"Maybe a Dugtrio? Uh, but we should get moving." She started walking hurriedly, which turned into a jog as pebbles on the ground started to bounce, then finally an all-out sprint. I did my best to keep pace with her; the tremors sent spasms up my legs that threatened to knock me over. But we weren't moving fast enough, I still couldn't see daylight, and the shaking was getting stronger; we were going to be caught in a rockslide or a cave-in or a—

There was a blast like an explosion, and the earth heaved, sending me sprawling onto the ground. I tried to push myself back up, but froze when I saw what had caused the eruption.

It was huge, at least two stories high. Underneath the dirt that cascaded off of it was a body made of indestructible rock, broken by two eyes and a maw that opened to let out a giant roar.

It was the face of death.


	12. Tombs of Kings

Stalactites crashed to the ground around me, falling from the ceiling like deadly icicles. I flinched and covered my face as one shattered inches from my head, showering me with debris. Through it all, Ty stood and stared at the Onix calmly, and asked, with all sincerity: "Think we can catch it?"

Oh, no. No to all of this.

I stumbled to my feet, running through the rocks and dirt. I didn't know whether Ty was following me until she started to pull ahead.

"An Onix," I gasped. "They're not supposed to—what's an Onix—"

'_Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon,'_ my Pokédex chimed helpfully. _'It burrows through the ground at a speed of __50 miles per hour__ while feeding on large boulders.'_

"_Shut up_ I don't need to know that! I meant, what's one doing here?"

"Well, they do live in caves."

From the crashes following behind us, I knew that we hadn't put any distance between us and the Onix—if anything, it was gaining on us.

"There's no way… We're going to… It's going to kill us," I gasped between shallow breaths.

"Then let's beat it."

We turned a sharp corner, and Ty stopped. I leaned against the rocky wall, trying to catch my breath. The ground shook violently as Onix approached, and just as its head appeared—

"Jira! Metal Claw!"

The Charmander had been slumped on all fours, exhausted from running on its stubby legs, but hearing the command, he leapt up to attack. There was the scraping sound of metallic nails on a chalkboard, and for a moment, everything went silent.

The Onix, easily a dozen times his size and a hundred times his weight, stood deathly still, searching for what had struck it. Its rocky skin was completely undamaged. Jira hissed, holding his claw in pain, and the Onix's eyes focused on him. It stared at the Charmander for a moment, probably disbelieving that the puny thing had dared to attack it, and then reared up its head to strike.

I took off again, sprinting into darkness. Behind me, there was another roar, a crash, and then panting as Ty caught up with me again.

"It didn't work!" Had she really expected it to?

Suddenly, I spotted the faintest shaft of light off to the side. It came from a crack high up on one of the walls—too high to reach—but it landed on a flat, glistening surface. I braced my foot into the gravel and switched directions, running towards it as fast as I could manage and ignoring Ty's protests that we were going the wrong way. I doubted she even knew what the "right way" was at this point.

As I reached it, I saw that I'd been right. It was a great underground lake, formed where the cave connected to the sea.

Ty appeared beside me, winded and bewildered. "What—"

"We need to go this way," I panted. "Onix—rock-types—can't go across water."

She stared for a moment, thinking, and then made up her mind as another bellow came from behind us. "Jira, up!" The Charmander jumped, clinging to her shoulders and holding his tail upright, and we began to wade into the lake. The water was shockingly cold as it bit into my skin and tugged at my clothes, but I kept going. We had to get far enough out that it couldn't reach us. Soon we were in up to our chests; I withdrew Eris, who hadn't moved since the Onix had started chasing us—probably fainted from fear—and Ty held her Voltorb above her head.

I watched as the Onix approached the shore, waiting for it to stop, but it never did. Whether it hadn't seen the lake, or it hadn't cared, or it just couldn't stop in time, it plowed headfirst into the water and sent up a wave that pushed me backwards and knocked Ty over. Her Charmander leapt from her shoulders to mine, hissing and digging his claws into my scalp and neck. Moments later, the Onix emerged again with a deafening roar of pain and anger; its momentum had carried it past us, into the deeper water, but it was still close. I tried to run backwards as it lunged towards me, but I lost my balance from the slippery stones and churning waves, and fell all the way when Jira launched himself from my shoulders.

I clawed my way above the water again to see the Onix flailing madly, its head snapping back and forth. Jira had landed on it—the only platform he had left—and was clinging to its face stubbornly. Weakened by the water, the Onix's rocky skin couldn't hold up to his Metal Claw attack, and the Charmander had gouged himself deep handholds in the stone.

"Yeah! Kill it!" Ty had resurfaced beside me, and was cheering for her insane Pokémon. I wasn't so confident, and continued backing away as the two of them were locked in their struggle. The Onix crawled towards the wall that surrounded the lake and slammed its face against it, but Jira jumped away and climbed to the back of its head, where he gouged another chunk of rock out of its skull. It roared and slammed against the rock again, but the Charmander jumped safely to the back of its neck. The Onix had gone completely mad with rage, and as Jira raised his claws for another attack, its body began to glow.

Ty gave a quiet "Oh," and raised her Pokéball to call her Charmander back. He dissolved into a flash of red light, and Ty started running for the shoreline. We'd both barely clambered onto dry land when the light from the Onix reached a blinding point and an explosion ripped through the air. The shockwave shook the earth and sent us flying; the lake erupted into a geyser and rained water across the room; boulders fell from the ceiling and walls.

It was over in seconds. The Onix lay unconscious in the partially-drained lake, where part of the cave wall had collapsed on it. Light shone in from the new hole, offering a way out. I staggered to my feet, and felt the cuts and bruises from where I had been tossed against the stone—but I was still alive, and in one piece.

Ty went ahead of me as we waded back across the lake, sticking to the shallower parts near the edge. I held my breath as we passed its giant, motionless head; the horn alone was nearly as tall as me. If it had caught us…

Ty suddenly stopped, and despite my protests, began to dig through her bag until she emerged with something gray and lumpy. "I ordered it from that guy in Azalea Town," she explained. "I was gonna use it on a Gyarados or something, but this is almost as good."

And as I watched, dumbfounded, she strolled up to the Onix and rapped the Heavy Ball against its unconscious body.

* * *

I was never a really outdoorsy person, but the sun on my face again was the best thing I'd felt in days. I slumped onto the grass and pulled out Eris' Pokéball. I had to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Luckily, she was uninjured, though she was probably scarred for life anyway. As soon as she was released from the ball, she shrieked and darted away in blind terror. I began to lumber after her, but Ty was faster, and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. That didn't do anything to calm her down; she writhed and kicked and squealed like she was being slaughtered.

"Don't hold her like that!" I shouted, taking her back into my arms.

She scoffed. "It doesn't hurt them—"

"She's scared enough without you abusing her!" I sat down again and put her in my lap, holding her steady until she recognized me and stopped struggling.

"You need to toughen her up. She scares way too easy."

"That's not her fault, she's just a baby."

"You can't beat Falkner with a Pokémon like that."

I didn't give her the satisfaction of agreeing. Now that Eris had calmed down, I returned her to her ball; she had had enough for one day.

I wasn't really in the mood for it anymore, but we had come through that cave to see the Ruins, and dammit, that's what I was going to do. I started off towards one of the rocky mounds in the distance, Ty trailing after me.

"Why did you want to come here?" Now that the excitement was over, it hadn't taken her very long to start complaining again. "This place is so boring."

I sighed. "The scientists think something weird is going on, remember? Don't you want to see what it is?"

"Scientists are dumb. What do they know?"

"Then go home. I don't need you anymore anyway."

"Nah…" She scowled and kicked a pebble into the grass beside the path. "I wanna see."

More like she wanted to hang around and annoy me.

When we reached the first room, I saw that it was dark; the electric lighting had been turned off and the only light remaining came from the sun shining through the entrance. I stepped forward slowly, on the alert for anything out of the ordinary. There was the metallic glint of scientific instruments, with dials and screens displaying complicated gibberish, but aside from that, the room was empty and silent. No alarms went off and nothing jumped out to eat me as I made my way to the far wall.

This was one of the Ruins' four puzzle walls. In the dim light, I could barely see the patterns on the tiles. I reached out and touched one of the blocks; despite its age, it slid easily into the empty space beside it.

A strange feeling overtook me, something like déjà vu. My hands began to move almost by themselves, sliding each of the tiles into place automatically. I didn't fight it; the motions were familiar and strangely comforting. Gradually, I lost track of everything but the puzzle, my mind more focused than it had ever been before. The picture began to come together—a beak, two clawed feet, wings. Ho-oh.

Then one of the tiles showed up in the wrong spot. I snapped out of my trance and saw Ty, also lost in thought, moving one of the tiles around.

Somehow, I was angrier at this than at anything else that had happened today. I slapped her hand away from where she'd disrupted _my_ work. For a moment she stared at me, brow furrowed in confusion, before returning to normal. "It's not _your_ wall, you know."

Grumbling to myself, I turned my attention back to the puzzle. The spell was gone, and I couldn't remember where to move next—by now, though, it was almost complete, and it only took a few more minutes to slide the last pieces into place.

I looked at my work with undue self-satisfaction. But I'd barely opened my mouth to gloat when the floor started to shake, then crumbled out from underneath us, plunging us both into the darkness below.

My hands hit the floor first, followed by the rest of me, and one of my arms gave out with a sharp and painful crack. Down here, it was completely dark; the faint bit of light from the cracked ceiling faded away before it could reach the ground. I reached for the flashlight in my bag, but my left arm protested the movement with blinding pain.

Almost immediately, Ty had her Voltorb out and lit. But even as my eyes adjusted, the light didn't seem to stretch as far as it should have. The air was thick with dust and… something else. Still, it was enough to see that the walls were covered in the same weird runes present all over the Ruins.

"You broke the puzzle room," she muttered.

"Shut up." I pulled myself to my feet, wincing as my injured arm swung at my side. "I think we're still in the Ruins somewhere. We need to find a way out."

"You do that." She held her Voltorb out to me from her spot on the floor. I wondered briefly why she wasn't taking the lead, and then saw that her leg was twisted oddly underneath her.

"Okay, I—" I paused before taking the Voltorb. "It's not going to blow up, is it?"

"Not unless I tell him to." I gingerly picked it up with my good arm and cradled it like an oversized basketball.

"Just don't drop him. Or scare him, or make him mad." But her words didn't scare me like they normally would. By now, everything that had happened today felt surreal, story-like. If I was going to die today, it would have happened already.

Also, I had probably hit my head on the way down.

I wandered through the maze-like hallways, searching for a ladder or stairs, but all I found were dead ends. I wondered if anyone knew we were in here. Maybe the scientists had picked us up on their equipment, and they would come to find us. They'd be mad, sure, but who cared? All that mattered was getting out of here and _something was watching me_.

I spun around, brandishing the Voltorb at the darkness. Something had been there. I'd felt it. And it was still there, just not _there_. My scalp crawled with the tickle of invisible eyes. It grew stronger, coming from every direction, until static ran through my whole body and clouded my mind. I shivered.

"Who's there?" My voice was cracked and dry, but it sounded strangely loud in the still, dark air. In the corner of my eye, a shadow flickered on the wall. And before I could convince myself it was just an illusion, the walls were suddenly alive, the hieroglyphs rippling and swelling until they separated from the stone and swarmed.

I screamed, probably, and started to run, but the air had grown solid with the things, and they forced me back. They surrounded me, the air turning thicker and blacker until even the light from the Voltorb went dim and disappeared completely. And then one by one, they began to open their eyes. Dozens and dozens of glowing white eyes, all staring at me—staring through me.

My mind screamed with psychic static and feedback until every thought was wiped away. And when it had almost shut down completely, swaying between hallucinations and a weary sleep, that was when the words came. They started out garbled and alien, then slowly shifting and correcting themselves into letters that branded themselves onto my brain. There were dozens, hundreds, too many to make sense of, but some were stronger and bolder than the rest.

**CYCLE**

**RESET**

**INFINITE**

Through all the noise, I heard a scream in the distance. The world had melted into streaks of grey and black, and I was floating—at least, I couldn't feel the ground anymore.

**E N D**

**S A V E**

The whispers grew louder and louder, until they joined into a single alien chorus, impossibly loud and endlessly echoing, until my mind finally snapped under the weight. The voices faded, leaving me in total darkness. As everything faded away, one word remained, burning brighter than all the rest.

**H E L P**


	13. To Know the Unknown

"So you don't know what it was?"

"No, I said it was _Unown_."

The scientists had cornered us in the hospital as soon as we'd woken up. They were interrogating us, and we were demanding answers from them, and none of us were getting very far.

"They're a kind of ancient Pokémon, very reclusive, rarely seen. They usually show up in the Ruins of Alph."

"No way! How come I've never heard of them?" Ty protested.

"They usually don't show themselves in front of people," said a shorter, rounder researcher. "When we say they appear there, we mean every few decades or so."

"And you didn't tell anybody that the Ruins were full of ancient, dangerous Pokémon?"

"That's why they were closed. If you had only obeyed…"

It went on like that for a while. All in all, we were lucky. Between the two of us, we had gotten a sprained ankle, dislocated elbow, and a lecture in responsibility. Apparently the researchers were more concerned with analyzing the data from the Unown swarm than pressing charges. So the next day, we were released from the hospital, bandaged and with strict instructions to avoid doing anything crazy for the next few weeks. They didn't have to worry about that, for me at least. Ty was a different story.

"I'm going to go to the Pokémon Center, get my Pokémon back, and then go challenge Falkner," she said, hobbling along on her crutches.

"Today? Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, my team's fine, and we're not waiting any longer. I'm gonna do this."

The blonde nurse at the Pokémon Center took in our injuries with an indifferent shrug before retrieving our Pokéballs. She handed three to Ty, and two to me—

Wait a minute. "I only have one Pokémon."

"Well, this one's registered to you." She held it out insistently.

"But I didn't catch—"

"Look, kid, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but if you don't want it, you can't just leave it here. Either release it or send it to a rescue; we can't take care of it forever."

Well, she didn't have to be so rude about it.

"You caught a Pokémon? When?" Ty eyed my Pokéball suspiciously.

"I don't think I did," I murmured. "Maybe I forgot?"

"Maybe they gave you someone else's Pokémon by mistake." I blanched at the thought of opening it to find somebody else's Rhydon or Dragonite. The last thing I needed was to face down two giant, angry Pokémon in one week. "Whatever, I've gotta go sign up with Falkner before he gets booked. Come watch if you want." And she was gone again.

I did want to take a look inside Falkner's gym, but before that, I had to take a look at the mystery Pokémon and make sure there hadn't been some horrible mix-up. I walked to the wooded area beside the Pokémon Center and steeled myself for the worst. First, though, I released Eris, who blinked in the sunlight and stared at me with dazed eyes. Of course she was confused, considering I didn't normally keep her in her Pokéball that long and the last thing she remembered was being chased by two scary monsters. She kept eyeing me as I sat beside her, her little brain trying to make sense of it all.

I scratched behind her ears and tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Hey. I know what happened was… We ended up almost getting killed again, and I'm sorry. Again." I sighed. "I'm trying to keep you safe, but things just keep happening. I guess at least some of it was my fault this time, though. Are you okay?"

I knew that she didn't hold grudges. If she wanted to hate me for putting her in danger, she would have left already. Still, I felt a wave of guilt when she climbed into my lap and stared at my injured arm, bound in a sling, with a soft keen. I didn't want her worrying about me; I did that enough already. I picked her up with my good arm and hugged her against my chest, and for a minute, we were silent.

"Some weird things happened after the cave," I finally continued. "And somehow, I caught a Pokémon." Her ears pricked with interest as I held the Pokéball out to show her. "I don't know what it is yet. But you wanted a partner, right? What do you think?"

She leaned in to sniff the sphere, then looked at me quizzically. I shrugged. Only one way to find out.

I raised the Pokéball, hesitated, and threw it into the center of the clearing. I made sure to give it plenty of space, in case it turned out to be another Onix, but as the light faded away, the figure that remained was barely bigger than my Eevee. It was pretty flat, and the shape reminded me a bit of a game controller. It was black and oddly shiny, and as I stared, it slowly opened one huge, central eye…

I swore and jumped to my feet, grabbing Eris again. We had to get away before it saw us—but it had already seen us, and before I could take more than a few steps, it zoomed in front of me, bobbing in the air inches from my face.

"How—How did you get in there? What do you want?" I demanded, backing away. Why had I thrown its Pokéball all the way over there? Its eye circled and darted in every direction, from me, to Eris, a tree, the sky, a Pidgey perched on a branch, and back to me. Then it moved closer again, and Eris bared her teeth and started barking. I knew she could feel it too, the same sort of psychic pressure from the Ruins. This time, though, it was less intense—almost gentle. Against my better judgment, I muttered some soothing words to Eris, shut my eyes, and let it take over my mind.

It was just static at first, but soon focused into soft waves, and eventually what felt like tiny fingers that prodded at my brain. It probed through my head, picking out thoughts and feelings and finally memories. My life was dragged out, one scene at a time, each so vivid it was like living it again. It lingered on a few in particular: a first-grade play about the Brass Tower, the vacation my family had spent in the Whirl Islands, getting attacked by a Staryu swarm years ago. The thing that had saved me—

Abruptly, it withdrew, leaving a vacuum where its presence had been. I gasped in shock as I took control of my own mind again, and felt an alien sensation buried somewhere inside. It wasn't mine, but it was warm, almost happy. I looked at the Unown and saw it staring back; it showed no emotion, but with each twitch of its body and eye I could feel the tiny mind inside mine shift.

I'd never been around psychic Pokémon before, but I'd heard that some could form bonds with humans. Was that what this was? Was it feeling everything I felt right now? Could it read my thoughts? I stared at it, trying to feed it those questions through my head, urging it for some kind of answer. It gazed back calmly and blinked.

* * *

Surprisingly, the Pokédex had a lot of information about Unown. It told me that they were most powerful in groups, and weren't nearly as dangerous on their own. With that in mind, I was only slightly nervous about my decision to keep the Unown out of its Pokéball as I made my way towards Falkner's gym. If I was going to keep it on my team, we would have to get to know each other—maybe its psychic mind-melding had told it everything about me, but it didn't work both ways. Pokémon and their trainers were supposed to trust each other, and right now I was gripping its Pokéball in my hand "just in case."

I also learned that Unown were supposed to have come from another dimension, that each form had different abilities, and that their shapes matched ancient hieroglyphs. So I named it Heta.

Heta was content to bob around my shoulders, orbiting my head like a satellite. It was fascinated with everything; its eye flew frantically in every direction, trying to take in all of its surroundings at once. I could tell whenever it spotted something particularly exciting, as the emotion in my head switched from curious, to confused, to anxious. Some of those might have been my own feelings, since I was earning a lot of glances from people in the street, and I wasn't sure how to react to that. Like the scientists had said, most people didn't know much about them. I just turned my eyes down to the road and tried to ignore them.

When I finally entered the gym, I found Ty sitting in the lobby, rolling her Heavy Ball around in her hand thoughtfully. "Did you fight yet?"

"Not yet, Falkner's already got some kid in there so I have to wait a little _what is that thing_." She pointed accusingly at the Unown floating by my shoulder.

"This… I caught it in the Ruins of Alph?" Still didn't know how that had happened.

"You caught one of those things? And you're keeping it?" Her eyes were wide with genuine astonishment—of course, she would never do something so irresponsible as catching a potentially dangerous Pokémon.

"The Pokédex says they're not dangerous until you get a lot of them in one place." And hopefully, it was right.

"But what if it finds other ones, or calls them, or something?" she insisted. "You don't know, it could—it could…" She trailed off as the door to the arena opened and a depressed-looking boy shuffled out. I could see the change in her face as her mind shifted back to her number one priority. "Get a good seat. I'm gonna kick Falkner's ass."

As she limped towards the door, the receptionist pointed me towards a side door that led to an elevator bay. I stepped on to one, held the door open until Heta decided to follow me, and we were on our way.

I didn't care that much about Ty's weird obsession with Falkner, but I was going to have to face him myself soon, and I wanted to see the way he battled. Gym leaders' teams for low-level competitors rotated constantly, so I probably wouldn't see the same Pokémon I'd be fighting, but it was better than nothing.

How much higher was this elevator going to go?

When I stepped out of the elevator, I was floored. I'd never been inside a gym before, so I probably would have been impressed by anything, but this one was amazing. We were on a roof, open to the sky, at least ten or twenty stories above the ground. The field itself was made of transparent blocks of glass that showed only darkness underneath them. A number of rafters lining the arena served as perches for bird Pokémon. I was sure every inch of it had been designed to psych out challengers and give Falkner the maximum possible advantage.

It was beautiful.

I took a seat in one of the raised bleachers along the side and waited for the battle to start. Ty had already appeared; even from a distance, I could see she was making a point to look indifferent. The far door opened, and out stepped Falkner, looking perfectly cool and composed. When he saw Ty, though, he sighed.

"Again?"

"Yeah, I'm here again, now do your job and fight me!"

"Fine, fine. Two-on-two, same rules as before. Let's get this over with." He pulled a Pokéball from his waist and tossed it casually onto the battlefield. It was a tiny, angry-looking bird—a Spearow. Ty, of course, sent out Jira, who seemed remarkably well-rested for having faced down an Onix just yesterday. I wished I could heal that quickly.

The referee signaled the start of the battle, and both Pokémon lunged towards each other. Falkner ordered his Spearow into the air, while Ty called for a barrage of Embers. And almost immediately, I saw how she could have lost to Falkner so many times—her Charmander couldn't aim.

"Get it! Burn it!" The attack went wide as the Spearow dodged, clumsy on its tiny wings but still fast enough to evade, and landed a peck on the top of Jira's skull. Ty shouted in frustration as her Charmander tried to slash it with his claws, but his stubby arms couldn't reach, and he was left flailing helplessly. It was embarrassing to watch.

"Ember again! Turn around and get it!" Jira snapped his head around, sending out a shower of sparks that singed the Spearow's feathers.

"Get away and use Fury Attack."

"Metal Claw when it gets close!"

For several minutes, the battle continued like this, trading light hits and grazing blows. It wasn't exactly the thrilling, fast-paced battle I'd hoped for. Eventually, the Spearow grew too exhausted to dodge, and went down after taking an Ember to the face. Unperturbed, Falkner recalled it and sent out his second Pokémon. It was a larger bird, a few feet tall, with a sturdy tan body and bright red crest. Pidgeotto.

This round went much more quickly. Ty opened with an Ember, but the Pidgeotto blew it away with a Gust attack that knocked Jira off-balance, then slammed him to the ground with Quick Attack. Jira raked a Metal Claw across its breast, but the bird dodged the worst of it and gave another light-speed Quick Attack. Because it was a larger target, Jira managed to land a few hits with Ember, but as soon as the Pidgeotto began looking worn-out, Falkner signaled for it to land on one of the perches. It folded in its wings and closed its eyes for a moment, recovering its energy.

I could see how that might get annoying.

A few more hits from the Pidgeotto, and Jira went down, breathing heavily. That was what Ty was waiting for. She recalled him, plucked the Heavy Ball from her belt, and tossed it onto the field. I stood up and clambered a few rows higher into the bleachers, not that it would help me if the thing went berserk again. Had she even released it once since catching it? Were we even sure it was sane?

I don't know what Pokémon Falkner was expecting—maybe her Voltorb—but it clearly hadn't been an Onix. For a moment, he lost his poised expression and let his mouth hang open in surprise. Eris squealed and hid in my arms again, and Heta buzzed with anticipation. The Onix let out a roar as it took in the open sky around it. It knew it had been captured, and it wasn't happy.

"Zircon, use Rock Throw on the Pidgeotto!" The Onix heard the command, but didn't obey. Instead, it turned its head around to Ty and slammed its tail into the battlefield, sending out a shockwave I could feel from the sidelines. It narrowed its eyes and gave a long, low growl of building rage. Her grin faltered, and she took a step back; it was the first time I'd seen her look scared.

Then it lurched towards her. Falkner started shouting for her to recall it, but the ball slipped from her grasp. She winced and held out her arms to shield herself, but before the Onix could strike, something else happened. There was a crackling and groaning of glass and steel as the support beams sagged under the immense weight, popping the glass blocks out of the frame and sending them crashing down. The Onix stopped as it felt the ground falling away, just in time for the girders to give out completely. A jagged hole erupted from the field and swallowed it up, its huge head catching on the sides momentarily until the edges shattered and let it through. Moments later, there was a huge crash that shook the whole building, coming from somewhere below.

Falkner stared at the hole in stunned disbelief, then ran for the fire stairs. I got up and followed, though I went much more slowly after nearly slipping on the smooth metal. When I reached the ground floor, Falkner was already there, and so was Ty, who had decided to take her chances with the elevator. The interior of the gym was a mess, with glass littering the floor and a dazed Onix lying on top of it all. Falkner's Pidgeotto had flown in through the hole and was shrieking furiously. When the Onix gave it no response, it dove into a Quick Attack aimed at its head—but as soon as it made contact, it bounced off its rocky skin harmlessly and fell to the floor, unconscious.

Ty had composed herself again, and when she saw the Pidgeotto fall, she broke out in a smirk from ear to ear. "I win."

* * *

_Can Unown use telepathy? The canon explicitly says they can't, but then, it's also contradicted that at every turn. They can, at least, send and receive electromagnetic waves, which could feasibly work as low-level telepathy (if you're in the Pokémon universe, of course, where EM waves are equivalent to magic)._


End file.
